Dive Summary:

• The City of Chicago has set a timeline for how it intends to complete a deal that will move about 950,000 customers to a new electricity supplier; the plan is for Chicagoans to make the move in February 2013.
• The timing is important because customers stand to save the most money over Commonwealth Edison's rate between now and June of 2013, when the utility's prices are expected to drop.
• Industry analysts say the deal could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the winning supplier or suppliers.

From the article:

"... The timing of the deal is important because Chicagoans stand to save the most money over Commonwealth Edison's rate between now and June 2013, when ComEd's prices are expected to drop because pricey contracts they entered into years ago will expire. The timeline has Chicagoans moving to the new supplier in February 2013. ..."