OREGON — At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Ogle County Board approved an electrical aggregation resolution by a vote of 20-0. The resolution is for county residents and small businesses not in a township or city to have the opportunity to pay a power rate agreed to by the county if they so choose.
The meeting saw a presentation by Mike Mudge of Rock River Energy Services, which gets a commission by providing the energy consultation service for the county and doing the bidding process. The resolution the board approved consisted of a bid from MC Squared (MC2) for a 22-month term at 8.95 cents per kilowatt hour. The county received one other bid. It chose the 22-month term due to uncertainty in the power market. The county’s previous agreement was for 6.612 cents per kilowatt hour from October 2024-May 2025. The county can terminate the new agreement at any time it chooses.
Mudge's presentation said power rates have risen across the country due to increases in demand for power, and early retirement of fossil fuel plants and the new production of renewable energy generation decreasing supply and not keeping up with the demand for data centers and electric vehicles. The PJM (ComEd grid operator) auction saw a spike for 2025-2026 with a higher cost per megawatt, Mudge said.
Board Member Benjamin Youman (R-Davis Junction) asked the board to review the state of the power market in the coming months.
"We have three competing factors going on with power prices," Youman said. "There is big demand going on because everyone is thinking AI and data centers are going to be in big demand. The only thing that will counter that immediately in the next 2-3 years is natural gas rates. Electric prices always follow natural gas prices. We're hedging our bets between the competing interests of what demand is going to be and gas suppressing the cost of electricity. We can break this rate at any time with no penalty. It seems to be a good idea in maybe 3-4 months to come back and look at what the national average of electric rates is so we can make a determination."
Customers not in cities or townships can decide to stay on the county program, opt out and select their own supplier or select the ComEd default rate.
"By doing this, we're not doing anything but locking in this particular rate now," Board Member and Long Range Planning Committee Chairman Don Griffin (R-Oregon) said. "It still gives everybody a chance to do whatever they want to do."
Board Member Aaron Mudge (R-Oregon) abstained from the vote due to a personal conflict (Mike Mudge being his father).
Community solar
The board approved a special use permit for OneEnergy Development for the construction and operation of a two-megawatt community solar facility in the 3,200 block of South Union Road in Buffalo Township on 16.13 acres by a vote of 17-3 with Board Member Wayne Reising (R-Oregon) abstaining due to a conflict with a business client of his.
Board Member Marcia Heuer (R-Oregon) voted against the special use permit, citing the land’s 94 percent productivity score for agriculture.
Board Member Susie Corbitt (R-Polo) voted in favor of the special use permit and said that there was no sentiment against the project at recent Polo City Council meetings she attended.
Repair shop
The board unanimously approved a special use permit for Kabbage Patch LLC to allow for the operation of a truck & trailer repair, maintenance, mechanic shop, parking and related ancillary uses at 14742 E. Illinois Route 64 in White Rock Township. The new business will be located at the former site of Timberman Tree Service.
Road & Bridge
During the Road & Bridge portion of the meeting, the board unanimously approved the appropriation of $600,000 in motor fuel tax funds for the reconstruction of South Lowell Park Road from a quarter mile south of West Penn Corner Road to 200 feet north of West Penn Corner Road.
The project will include the removal and replacement of an eight-by-12 concrete box culvert, earth excavation and embankment construction and construction of a full depth hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement on an aggregate base, including cold milling HMA. The work further entails the construction of a soldier pile retaining wall along the cemetery, concrete gutter, pipe culverts, storm sewers, and other collateral work.
