ComEd files for cost recovery of $50M to support expansion of energy usage reduction programs in Illinois
If approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), a new cost recovery request from ComEd would tack $50 million onto customer bills – about 30 cents per month for the average residential customer – to expand customer energy efficiency programs.
The request, which would be implemented in January 2023, followed the new Illinois state energy law, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which pushed for greater customer savings through increased measures like electrification. This year, ComEd intends to launch pilot projects for income-eligible customers to fully electrify their homes. Over the next four years, it also intends to spend about $10 million annually to increase electrification opportunities for those same customers, meaning those who earn 80 percent or less of an area’s average income.
“ComEd energy efficiency programs have only grown more effective in helping customers of all kinds reduce their energy bills and consumption, which also helps us reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said. “Customers now can save as much energy in five years’ time what used to take them a decade. And the cost to customers is still far less than what it was under the energy efficiency program prior to 2017. Thanks to CEJA, customers have more savings opportunities than ever.”
CEJA allows utilities like ComEd to fund solutions for customers in every sector to electrify space heating, water heating, cooling, drying, cooking, and industrial end uses to reduce energy consumption and the use of fossil fuels. Since 2008, well before that law came into being, ComEd noted that its customers have saved $6.4 billion due to its energy efficiency program.
Additionally, more than 15,000 of the company’s customers have tapped its free home energy assessments to gain greater insights into their energy usage and access free energy-saving fixtures. Rebates are also offered for high-efficiency equipment like air conditioning systems and weatherization, among other things.
