ComEd files for $199M rate increase to pay for Illinois reliability improvements, clean energy transition
In a filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) last week, ComEd requested an increase of $199 million in electricity delivery charges to cover reliability improvements for residential and commercial customers and support its clean energy transition.
“As we bring more renewable energy like wind and solar onto the power grid to support the state’s ambitious clean energy goals, we must enhance our infrastructure to safely integrate these resources and ensure the more than 9 million people we serve can continue to count on reliable and affordable energy,” Gil Quiniones, CEO of ComEd, said. “The grid was designed decades before widescale adoption of renewables, electric vehicles, digital devices, industrial electrification, and emerging sectors like indoor agriculture. We will continue working with local leaders and community groups to ensure the grid can meet the needs of all customers in the 21st century.”
As of February, a monthly bill for a ComEd residential customer averaged $89.49. With the requested increase in delivery charges, that bill would increase by about $2.20/month. However, the company added that offsets and decreases – primarily due to a reduction in energy capacity costs – would result in lowered bills by next year. If the ICC approves the proposal, ComEd hopes to use $65 million in deferred income tax benefits to offset 82 cents of the monthly delivery charge increase.
Additionally, capacity charges customers pay to guarantee power supply levels capable of meeting high demand periods are expected to decline by 65 percent this year.
As to the renewables side of the equation, ComEd expects to close in on more than 80 community solar projects by year’s end, bolstered by a distributed generation rebate program that has provided more than $44 million to commercial and industrial customers, at rates of $250 per kW hour of installed solar power capacity, since 2019. The company also continues to invest in new software to support monitoring and coordinated control of solar and wind energy, pilots to demonstrate energy storage capabilities, and smart switch power routers, among others. Each of these items would be covered by the new rate request.
The rate filing begins an eight-month process during which the ICC and other groups will review ComEd’s proposal, including its actual operating costs for 2021 and expected investments for 2022. Regulators must find all of these costs advisable and reasonable before including them in customer rates that take effect in January 2023.
