While we can model future prices using many assumptions, actual prices beyond 2035 depend on potentially massive and currently unknown and unresolved shifts in technology, geopolitics, and infrastructure. IMEA price certainty beyond 2035 is a myth.
Below we provide the graph of future projections to 2050 by Naperville’s consultant, CES, which shows the large band of uncertainty that CES modeling statistically calculated for their projections. We also provide IMEA’s graph of future projections, which is limited to only the next 5 years.
Naperville’s Consultant, CES, Projections
Naperville’s consultant, CES, presented the “Projected IMEA Revenue Requirements” slide and graph (below) in their presentation at the Naperville Public Utilities Advisory Board (PUAB) meeting on March 06, 2025. Here’s a timestamped link, in our YouTube recording, to that specific point in the presentation:
https://youtu.be/CtTYD3PNHNA?t=1804s
Note (a) the increasing width of the light purple band of uncertainty from 2025 to 2050 and (b) the first line on the slide that states: “IMEA’s revenue requirement will increase by 2.6x from 2025 to 2050 following the projected trajectory” [represented by the black line].
Increasing revenue requirements is an indirect way of saying increasing IMEA prices, since IMEA’s revenue requirements are covered through the IMEA Members’ monthly bills. And the band of uncertainty by 2050 is more than $100 million above and below the mid-point of $690 million.
Also note that during the live presentation, CES made a correction: “There’s a typo on the first line. It’s actually 2.8 times instead of 2.6”. So CES modeling projected a nearly 3-fold increase by 2050, with large uncertainty.
CES also presented a “Projected IMEA Revenue Requirements” slide at the Naperville City Council workshop on July 28, 2025. The projected revenue graph is in the bottom half of the slide, showing the same band of uncertainty and the 2.8x increase by 2050.
IMEA Projections
IMEA presented the slide below with the chart of IMEA average costs to Members at the IMEA board meeting on February 20, 2025. The chart was also repeated in the IMEA presentation to PUAB on February 27, 2025 and in the PUAB presentation to city council on July 28, 2025.
Note that IMEA provides only 5-year future projections of IMEA’s average costs to Members, with transmission costs split out in red.
