Voters in Pinckneyville, Du Quoin and about 300 Illinois towns have the chance to let local leaders or someone they hire negotiate lower-cost power for residential and small-business customers.
Town across the state have placed measures on Tuesday's primary ballots that would give local officials the OK to negotiate to buy bulk power through what's called municipal utility aggregation.
Customers and in some cases whole towns would band together to potentially increase their bargaining power. About 20 Illinois towns have taken the step and the Citizens Utility Board says customers have saved up to $14 a month. They still pay the same utilities but they're buying at a cheaper rate.
But Ameren and Commonwealth Edison are expected to charge lower prices on their own after higher-priced contracts they signed expire next year.
