MALDEN — Malden residents should have started realizing savings on their electric bills since approving an electric aggregation referendum in April, according to Marni Henert, energy consultant with Rock River Energy Services.

Malden was one of four Bureau County communities approving referendums last spring, which gave village officials the authority to arrange for an electric aggregation program to supply electricity for residents and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of the program.

In a recent press release issued by Rock River Energy, Malden has 157 residential and small commercial electric accounts. Of that number, 21 accounts had already switched to another retail electric supplier and were not eligible to be automatically enrolled in the community program with Homefield Energy, which is headquartered in Collinsville.