Illinois Municipal Electric Agency Member municipalities will see an overall savings of $33.6 million on their power bills over the next ten years, thanks to a successful bond refinancing this summer by IMEA, their wholesale electric supplier.
IMEA is a nonprofit joint action agency that supplies power and other value-added services to 32 municipally owned utilities throughout Illinois.
Those 32 member municipalities will each see a portion, based on their energy usage and demand, of the savings which equates to $3.4 million annually.
IMEA President and CEO Kevin Gaden thanked all involved in securing this outcome: IMEA staff, an underwriting team led by Bank of America, Ramirez Securities and PNC Bank, IMEA’s bond counsel at Chapman and Cutler, and IMEA’s Financial Advisors at Public Finance Management.
He stated, “The bond market has been very volatile lately, but IMEA was able to successfully secure a lower interest rate to pass through a substantial savings to our 32 Member municipalities.”
The bond closing officially completed the 2025A IMEA Bond refinancing process that began with an approval of the Bond Ordinance by the IMEA Board in February 2025. The refinancing applies to all of IMEA’s 2015A Bonds and a portion of 2009C and 2010A Build America Bonds (BABs).
IMEA’s strong credit rating played a key role in successfully refinancing the remaining IMEA power supply debt obligations, it noted.
Fitch Ratings and Moody's Ratings recently affirmed IMEA’s long-term debt with exemplary ratings. In late April, Fitch Ratings affirmed an “AA- rating with a Stable Outlook” and in June, Moody’s Ratings affirmed an “A1 Rating with a Stable Outlook.”
“The refinance allows IMEA to provide our members with even more savings as we begin to pay the new lower debt service payments. When the term is complete in February 2035, all IMEA power supply debt will be paid off,” said Dan Cook, IMEA Board Chairman. He added that with ownership of $1.2 billion in assets at the end of the bond payment term, IMEA Members will be in a very enviable position, as the Agency considers its future resource planning.
