The Centralia City Council was told Goode Energy will be seeking bids on the next 18 months of electric aggregation while electric prices have stabilized.
Managing Director Philip Carr says Centralia is combined with 29 other mostly Metro-East communities to try and get the lowest bid possible. However, he warned with the state forcing the phase out of coal power plants the 4-cent per kilowatt rates of the past are gone with rates currently at about 8-cents per kilowatt hour.
“We’ve been retiring the cheap generation and we now the amount of power is extraordinary which is exploding throughout the country.”
Carr told the council they should be able to continue to deliver rates lower than what customers would pay directly to Ameren. However, he says residents and small businesses on electric aggregation can drop off at any time. Carr says the only consequence is not being able to get back on the aggregation program for a year.
In other action, the city council approved the sale of five surplus properties to the highest bidder. Vacant lots at 1011 Hester, 129 and 135 North Maple, and 127 South Locust were sold along with a never developed parcel on Raccoon Lake off Dunbar Lane. The council approved surplus about an acre of vacant land between 4th and the CN railroad tracks west of Locust Street. A minimum $45,000 bid will be required. Another resolution was passed to remove derelict buildings from a Lake Centralia lease site at 2340 Wabash Lane so it can be offered as a lease site again.
The Centralia Police Department was given permission to lease purchase two new police utility vehicles through the ongoing Enterprise Fleet Management agreement.
The council approved Gonzalez Companies, LLC performing the annual Raccoon Dam inspection.
