As we’ve reported before, in a year of spiking electricity prices, Commonwealth Edison bills have included a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) credit made possible by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). This credit has given ComEd customers some relief in a tough year, and it will get even higher for a few months in 2026.
- The credit will be an estimated average of roughly $13 a month, around January through May of 2026, but the actual amount will depend on the customer’s usage. (CUB is working on getting an actual per-kWh amount for the credit from ComEd and to nail down the exact timeline of the credit.)
- The credit, for both residential and commercial customers, will be included in an existing line item on bills: the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA). Note: In ComEd tariffs, it’s called the Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment.
More Background:
CEJA created a line item on ComEd bills called the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA), which was designed to support carbon-free energy produced by Illinois nuclear power plants. But under a provision pushed by consumer advocates, this adjustment becomes a bill credit when energy prices go above a certain level, like we’re seeing now with the PJM capacity market.
The credit is getting bigger in January, thanks to Inflation Reduction Act production tax credits that were issued to nuclear generators. Under CEJA, a tax windfall like this must be shared with utility customers. The IRA was gutted last summer by the reconciliation bill, but some benefits from that legislation still linger, and this is an example.
Bottom line:
CUB is still waiting to hear more details from ComEd as to the exact timeline and the amount of the credit. What we know right now is that ComEd estimates the credit will be a rough average of $13 a month, around January through May. That is good news, as we work for long-term solutions to high electricity prices.
