NOTE: Our research into the early history of Naperville’s involvement in IMEA reveals that Naperville was a founding member of IMEA in 1984. We also found evidence that Naperville was actively involved in efforts with IMEA to plan for IMEA to supply power to Naperville from the Prairie State coal plant, many years before Naperville’s Power Sales Contract with IMEA was approved by the Naperville City Council in 2007.
Recap:
Naperville was one of the founding members of IMEA along with 25 other Municipalities when IMEA was initially formed in May 1984. Subsequently, IMEA began power sales to some member municipalities (other than Naperville) in 1986 under five-year wholesale power supply contracts. In 1990, IMEA began utilizing Power Sales Contracts which replaced the five-year wholesale power supply contracts.
The IMEA “Members” who entered into Power Sales Contracts with IMEA were known as “Participating Members”. Some “Members” without contracts continued to remain active in IMEA; while some others like Naperville became inactive. (We assume Naperville became inactive due to IMEA’s inability to offer power supply service to Naperville at that time.)
By 1998, IMEA had grown to 35 Members, of which 24 were Participating Members. Naperville was once again an active Member, although not a Participating Member. Allan Poole, Naperville’s Director of Public Utilities, served as Naperville’s representative on the IMEA Board of Directors. (We conjecture that Naperville once again became an active Member as part of the Peabody Coal and IMEA efforts to build and buy a share of Peabody Coal’s Prairie State project.)
In 2002, Burns & McDonnell, an infrastructure engineering firm, submitted a report to IMEA of its findings pertaining to an IMEA Integrated Resources Plan Study. Naperville’s $51,750 cost share of this study had been approved by the City Council in 2001. Objectives of the study also included developing resource plans for the five Northern Municipals: Batavia, Geneva, Naperville, Rochelle, and St. Charles. This report also offered recommendations that included “pursue opportunities to partner in or purchase from a minemouth coal plant”. (We are aware of only one mine-mouth coal plant being planned in Illinois back in the early 2000s and that was Peabody Coal’s Prairie State project.)
By 2006, IMEA had grown to 40 Members, of which 29 were Participating Members. Allan Poole continued to represent Naperville on the IMEA Board of Directors. (We suspect that the potential to participate in the joint ownership opportunity in Prairie State was the main attraction for these new Members. One year later, as that opportunity firmed up, only 31 remained as IMEA Members.)
On Jan. 16, 2007, the Naperville City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 07-18 authorizing Naperville’s Power Sales contract with IMEA. From the recording of that meeting, we hear Allan Poole, Naperville’s Director of Public Utilities, emphatically state:
“This is an absolutely rock-solid decision to join the IMEA.”.
“And it’s, in turn, is a rock-solid decision by IMEA to get involved in the Peabody Prairie project.”
By 2009, IMEA had grown to the 32 Members that we see today, all 32 with full requirements Power Sales Contracts.
IMEA full requirements service to Naperville began on June 1, 2011.
Coal-fired generator Prairie State Unit 1 began commercial operation in the second quarter of 2012, and coal-fired generator Prairie State Unit 2 began commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Timeline:
May 16, 1984:
IMEA is created under an Agency Agreement with 26 members, including Naperville:
Altamont, Batavia, Bethany, Breese, Bushnell, Cairo, Chatham, Farmer City, Geneseo, Geneva, Highland, Ladd, Mascoutah, Naperville, Oglesby, Peru, Princeton, Rantoul, Riverton, Rochelle, Rock Falls, Springfield, St. Charles, Sullivan, Waterloo, and Winnetka.
Nov. 4, 1984:
The Village of Freeburg adopts Ordinance No 865 to also join IMEA.
Dec. 3, 1984:
Naperville adopts Ordinance 84-197 to approve the admission of Freeburg to IMEA.
Mar. 28, 1985:
IMEA files, with the Sangamon County IL Recorder, the IMEA Agency Agreement, the Freeburg Supplement, and the approval of Freeburg admission by the majority of IMEA members.
Source: Mar. 28, 1985 Agency Agreement Filing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1481e56Evwelq00v4TLhRvXMeYnSZuzqZ/view
1985 to 1991:
7 additional members join IMEA:
Carlyle, Carmi, Casey, Flora, Marshall, Metropolis, and Roodhouse
1986:
IMEA begins power sales to member municipalities under five-year wholesale power supply contracts.
1990:
IMEA executes Power Sales Contracts with its 24 Participating Members, effective March 1991, replacing the five-year contracts. The 24 Participating Members are:
Altamont, Bethany, Breese, Bushnell, Cairo, Carlyle, Carmi, Casey, Farmer City, Flora, Freeburg, Highland, Ladd, Marshall, Mascoutah, Metropolis, Oglesby, Peru, Princeton, Rantoul, Rock Falls, Roodhouse, Waterloo, and Winnetka.
Feb. 1, 1991:
IMEA has 30 active Members and 4 inactive members.
Of the 30 active members, 24 are Participating Members with Power Sales Contracts. The 6 active Members without Power Sales Contracts are:
Chatham, Riverton, Rochelle, Springfield, St. Charles, and Sullivan
The 4 inactive members who were originally founding members of IMEA are:
Batavia, Geneseo, Geneva, and Naperville.
The primary purpose of IMEA’s first bond offering is to acquire a 12.12% share of the new Trimble County Unit 1 coal-fired generator from Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E).
Source: IMEA Bonds Prospectus (dated Feb. 1, 1991)
https://emma.msrb.org/MS70952-MS54822-MD105663.pdf
Feb. 1, 1998:
IMEA now has 35 Members.
IMEA continues to supply the full power and energy requirements of its 24 Participating Members under Power Sales Contracts.
Greenup and Red Bud are now Members.
3 of 4 inactive members are now active Members once again, including Naperville. Geneva apparently remains inactive.
The power supply services of the 11 Members, who do not have full Power Supply Contracts including Naperville, are described as:
- The City of Sullivan is supplied by IMEA on a partial requirements basis.
- The Village of Greenup is supplied on a full requirements basis under a wholesale power supply agreement, but it is not a party to a Power Sales Contract.
- The Villages of Chatham and Riverton and the Cities of Batavia, Geneseo, Naperville, Redbud, Rochelle, and St. Charles purchase power from various other utilities.
- The City of Springfield supplies its service area from its own generation.
Allan Poole, Naperville’s Director of Public Utilities, is listed as Naperville’s representative on the IMEA Board of Directors.
Source: 1998 IMEA Bonds Prospectus (dated Feb. 1, 1998)
https://emma.msrb.org/MS139967-MS115275-MD223444.pdf
Oct. 16, 2001:
The Naperville City Council unanimously approves IMEA’s selection of Burns & McDonnell for the “Electric Power Supply Integrated Resources Plans” with the City of Naperville’s cost share not to exceed $51,750.00. Recommendation for the cost share expenditure for the Integrated Resource Plans comes from city staff’s Procurement 01-079 memorandum, signed by Allan Poole, Director of Public Utilities, and the Purchasing Manager.
Sources: City of Naperville City Council Meeting records for Oct. 16, 2001 obtained through FOIA request Study and Cover Letter
Oct. 16, 2001 City Council Meeting Minutes
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eVbCAlrSESICJGLyKLl-g3Jjd9F7R561/view
E2b Agenda Item Summary with Attachments
– Procurement 01-079 memorandum with description and recommendation by staff
– IMEA’s description of the purpose and scope of the Integrated Resource Plans
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YnfVuJrBOyZj7D3fLoRyP7fpwJjVEkDK/view
Jun. 2002:
Burns & McDonnell, an infrastructure engineering firm, submits to IMEA its “Report on the Integrated Resource Planning Study”. The cover letter states that:
This Study was authorized by IMEA for the purpose of evaluating long-term electric resource requirements and power supply options for IMEA members. The objectives of this Study were threefold:
- Item 1 – Update and expand the existing Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for IMEA’s full requirements, purchasing members for a fifteen year planning period extending through 2016.
- Item 2 -Develop a joint IRP for IMEA’ s membership in northern Illinois (Northern Municipals) who do not currently purchase their full requirements through the Agency.
- Item 3 -Develop a combined IRP for serving the full requirements of both the purchasing IMEA members and the Northern Municipals.
The Northern Municipals are listed as these 5 IMEA Members:
Batavia, Geneva, Naperville, Rochelle, and St. Charles.
The analyses in the report used assumptions and costs for “minemouth coal in southern Illinois”.
This Burns & McDonnell report offered recommendations that included “pursue opportunities to partner in or purchase from a minemouth coal plant”.
Sources: 2002 Report on the Integrated Resource Planning Study and Cover Letter
Cover Letter
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sGJkIKpaQL1mipo6ddlhGibE0Z7nX4qR/view
Executive Summary
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17CFFoa9OkHM_0CkXn-t6lkzwAAlv-_38/view
Full Report
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qz6LjjtfCTJnXELdg4E8UFSvIqAED2XN/view
May 1, 2003:
IMEA begins service under a Power Sales Contract to the City of Greenup and the Village of Chatham, making them Participating Members.
Jan. 1, 2005:
IMEA begins service under a full requirements Power Sales Contract to the Cities of Fairfield and Sullivan, making them Participating Members.
Jun. 12, 2006:
IMEA now has 40 Members.
IMEA supplies full requirements power and energy to 28 Participating Members. Additionally, St. Charles is now a Participating Member with full requirements service to begin in 2007, bringing the total of Participating Members to 29:
Altamont, Bethany, Breese, Bushnell, Cairo, Carlyle, Carmi, Casey, Chatham, Fairfield, Farmer City, Flora, Freeburg, Greenup, Highland, Ladd, Marshall, Mascoutah, Metropolis, Oglesby, Peru, Princeton, Rantoul, Rock Falls, Roodhouse, St. Charles, Sullivan, Waterloo, and Winnetka.
11 out of 40 Members do not have Power Supply Contracts, including Naperville:
Albany, Allendale, Batavia, Geneseo, Geneva, McLeansboro, Naperville, Red Bud, Riverton, Rochelle, and Springfield
Allan Poole is listed as Naperville’s representative on the IMEA Board of Directors.
Source: 2006 IMEA Bonds (dated Jun. 12, 2006)
https://emma.msrb.org/MS248018-MS223326-MD434838.pdf
Nov. 13, 2006:
Naperville holds a closed session workshop for “discussion regarding a contract relating to the purchase of electricity”.
Jan. 8, 2007:
A City of Naperville Memorandum is written to the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager from the Finance Director and City Attorney with “SUBJECT: Agreement with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency” and “ACTION REQUESTED: Pass the Ordinance authorizing the Purchase of Electric Power and Execution of a Long Term Power Sales Contract with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency and an Addendum”. The memo includes the following with respect to IMEA membership (underlining added) :
“The opportunity to become a member of IMEA will allow the City to share the ownership interests of IMEA’s assets and share in the costs of power with the existing members.”
“In order for IMEA to provide Naperville with power and energy for the long-term, full requirements of Naperville’s municipal electric system, IMEA needs to secure additional capacity and energy resources to add to its existing mix of resources. The attached Power Sales Contract and Addendum are contingent upon IMEA’s ability to purchase a minimum of 15% of the Prairie State Energy Campus project to provide additional base load capacity for IMEA. In addition, the twenty-nine existing members will have to vote to allow Naperville to join IMEA.”
Jan. 16, 2007:
The Naperville City Council unanimously approves Ordinance 07-18 authorizing purchase of electric power pursuant to a Long-Term Power Sales contract with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency and authorizing execution and delivery of a Power Sales Contract and addendum to Power Sales Contract with said agency. There is a lacking of information on consideration of alternative options and proposals.
Prior to the vote, the Public Utilities Director, Allan Poole, is introduced by the City Manager to address any City Council concerns and to answer questions. Allan Poole’s opening comments include (underlining added) :
“The environment, that’s my business.”
“This is an absolutely rock-solid decision to join the IMEA.”
“And it’s, in turn, a rock-solid decision by IMEA to get involved in the Peabody Prairie project.”
The N5 Agenda Item Summary also included the following Synopsis (underlining added) :
“Since the award of the power supply contract, the City has been exploring options for long-term procurement of energy. To that end, it is in the City’s best interest to enter into a joint agency agreement with the other twenty-nine member municipalities (Illinois Municipal Electric Agency ((IMEA)) for the procurement of long-term power and energy.”
The N5 Agenda Item Summary also contained, as an attachment, the Jan. 8, 2007 Memorandum.
Feb. 6, 2007:
Naperville and IMEA sign the full requirements Power Sales Contract and the Addendum.
May 1, 2007:
Naperville and IMEA sign the Second Addendum to the Power Sales Contract
Sources: City of Naperville City Council Meeting records for Nov. 13, 2006 and Jan. 16, 2007 obtained through FOIA request
Nov. 13, 2006 City Council Workshop Agenda
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GypZ67fN9f0aQIbu7HRGMYR80QRp8w1F/view
Jan. 16, 2007 City Council Meeting Minutes
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QwUW8rlJJt47fTwfyEo9uG7GGPg7HqJX/view
N5 Agenda Item Summary with Attached Jan 8 Memorandum
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D8SSl_ZdWK6ztn-4lv2-NkByN0WN3hH_/view
Ordinance 07-018 with Attached Power Sales Contract
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cQDEGqjbQeDS3-0f0jlqpExCLnCeixjE/view
23 Minute YouTube Video Snippet of the IMEA Contract Approval by City Council
Jun. 19, 2007:
IMEA and its 8 Prairie State partners enter into the Amended Asset Purchase Agreement and the Amended Project Development for the Prairie State Energy Campus (PSEC) project
Sep. 28, 2007:
IMEA and the other 8 partners enter into the Participation Agreement and the Project Management Agreement for the Prairie State Energy Campus (PSEC) project
Sources:
Prairie State Participation Agreement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YhTvbvvaa_F1AYi-uWrbMQDKdk0w1uX7/view
Prairie State Project Management Agreement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_YDrrbsdNdB3ByODbGre8b7CRVdOoI0L/view
Prairie State Amended Project Development Agreement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1caOEYtwqY24S1xdFwRVqacA3rWafCdZi/view
Prairie State Amended Asset Purchase Agreement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aY4JwTnjmes2az4bngg6EnsN9edjW1JT/view
Jun. 26, 2009:
Per the June 26, 2009 IMEA Agency Agreement filing:
8 Members formally withdrew from IMEA:
Albany, Allendale, Batavia, Geneseo, Geneva, McLeansboro, Rochelle, and Springfield
Riverton re-joined as a Member of IMEA, such that 32 Members remain:
Altamont, Bethany, Breese, Bushnell, Cairo, Carlyle, Carmi, Casey, Chatham, Fairfield, Farmer City, Flora, Freeburg, Greenup, Highland, Ladd, Marshall, Mascoutah, Metropolis, Naperville, Oglesby, Peru, Princeton, Rantoul, Red Bud, Riverton, Rock Falls, Roodhouse, St. Charles, Sullivan, Waterloo, and Winnetka.
Jul. 15, 2009:
All 32 Members of IMEA now have Power Sales Contracts. All Members without Power Sales Contracts formally withdrew from IMEA (per the June 26, 2009 IMEA Agency Agreement filing).
“In the last few years, IMEA extended the original 24 Power Sales Contracts and executed new Power Sales Contracts with 8 new Participating Members. …..
Service to the City of Red Bud (“Red Bud”) will commence on January 1, 2011 and service to Naperville will commence on June 1, 2011. All thirty-two Power Sales Contracts terminate in 2035.”
Allan Poole is listed as Naperville’s representative on the IMEA Board of Directors.
Sources:
June 26, 2009 IMEA Agency Agreement Filing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wtmyFcLTqWZ_VAJLLT1JJg2IKuq0Uhne/view
2009 IMEA Bonds Prospectus (dated Jul. 15, 2009)
https://emma.msrb.org/EP290722-EP7101-EP629341.pdf
2011:
Coal-fired generator Trimble County Unit 2 begins commercial operations in 2011. IMEA owns a 12.12% share.
2012:
Coal-fired generator Prairie State Unit 1 begins commercial operation in the second quarter of 2012, and coal-fired generator Prairie State Unit 2 begins commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2012. IMEA owns a 15.17% share.
Apr. 1, 2015:
Mark Curran is now listed as Naperville’s representative on the IMEA Board of Directors.
Source: 2015 IMEA Bonds Prospectus (dated Apr. 1, 2015)
https://emma.msrb.org/ER855486-ER668374-ER1070215.pdf
This webpage information is also available as a pdf file document “Naperville IMEA Early History Recap and Timeline“.