Attention ComEd customers: Your monthly bill is about to increase by about $10.
In a statement sent to NBC Chicago, the Illinois utility company said the average monthly residential ComEd bill is expected to increase by $10.06, beginning this summer. According to ComEd, the price hike is due to the “results of a PJM Interconnection capacity auction held last year.”
“ComEd does not profit from this increase, was not part of the auction, does not supply capacity, and does not retain any proceeds of the capacity charge payments,” the utility company said.
Customers will start to see the increase on their bills in June, ComEd said, under the “supply” portion of their bills. ComEd says its responsibility is the “delivery” portion of bills, which pays for the wok ComEd “does to maintain and upgrade the system to ensure safe and reliable electric service for all customers.”
Last month, Chicago Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), called the auction “flawed” and said the capacity, also known as reserve power prices that would “drastically” increase bills is unfair for consumers.
“PJM and FERC have acknowledged that the rules are flawed, and they have been changed for the next two auctions,” Raoul said. “I am asking that the most recent auction be conducted again under the revised rules, which have already been approved by FERC. These changes are critical to protect consumers from unreasonable increases to their utility bills.”
Capacity prices are paid by each residential, commercial and industrial customer as part of their electric bill, a release from Raoul said, with prices that are set through an auction for which companies that generate electricity submit bids.
For ComEd consumers in northern Illinois, the auction is run by a group called PJM.
“As a result of the flawed auction held last year, the PJM price included in ComEd rates is scheduled to increase by 594%. ComEd estimates that the average increase per consumer would be about $10.50 per month,” a news release from Raoul’s office said. Under Raoul’s proposal, rerunning the auction with the fairer rules could have cut the PJM price increase by almost half.
The complaint also asks the FERC to order refunds should a new auction not be held before June 1.
A press release from advocacy group Citizens Utility Board (CUB) said the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which was signed into law by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Sept. 2021, will help to offset some of the cost of the price hike. According to CUB, the price will again change in October.
“We’re glad CEJA gives customers some relief in the short term, and in the long term we will continue to work atfixing the root causes of this price spike, mainly poor policy from PJM Interconnection, the power grid operator for northern Illinois,” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said in a statement. “As we advocate for pro-consumer reforms at PJM and the State Capitol, we also urge ComEd to work with customers to keep them connected this summer.”
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