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Update for ComEd customers: Bigger CEJA credit on the way

Jim Chilsen — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:31:48 +0000

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. Here’s a summary: 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. As CUB told the media: “We’ve got a lot of work to do to bring down energy bills for consumers, but it’s good news that at a time of elevated power prices, Illinois’ strong energy policy is once again giving some relief to consumers. CEJA provides some protection as we work for long-term energy affordability solutions.”

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CUB joins legislative champions in Springfield to urge passage of Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act

Jim Chilsen — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 17:07:48 +0000

With consumers and the power grid facing unprecedented threats–including price spikes, surging demand sparked by data centers, and poor regional policy–legislative champions joined with consumer advocates on Tuesday to urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act (SB2473/HB3779). Please: Act now to protect our power bills and our power grid: Urge Springfield to support the CRGA Act. Watch the livestream of Tuesday’s Springfield news conference in which CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz and other supporters explain why the CRGA Act is needed. Here’s the situation: Illinois’ power grid is struggling to keep pace with a surge in demand for energy, largely caused by data centers. Yet, at a time when clean, affordable energy is most needed, power grid operators in Illinois–Regional Transmission Organizations PJM Interconnection and and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)–are years behind schedule in connecting clean energy projects to the grid that could power millions of homes. As a result, Illinois electric customers are increasingly threatened with poor grid reliability and unexpected price spikes–including one about to hit ComEd customers on June 1. Illinois passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in 2021, historic, nation-leading legislation that aims for 100 percent clean energy by 2050. But with these unprecedented threats, consumer and environmental advocates want to build on the progress of CEJA by passing the CRGA Act. “Too often Illinois electricity customers face price spikes because of poor policy from power grid operators PJM and MISO,” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said. “The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) was a historic step toward 100 percent clean, affordable energy, but our work isn’t done. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act is urgently needed legislation that builds on CEJA and is good for our power grid and good for our power bills.” The CRGA Act offers a comprehensive suite of commonsense solutions to meet the challenges facing our electric grid while prioritizing affordability for consumers. Among many provisions, the CRGA Act would: Strengthen energy efficiency by increasing the access to rebates to weatherize homes and purchase efficient appliances like HVAC systems and water heaters. Requires new large-scale data centers to cover their own grid interconnection costs and energy needs and bring in new clean energy. It also creates a process for regulators to set rules ensuring residential electric customers are not harmed by these energy-guzzling facilities. Strengthen the power grid by promoting improvements to transmission infrastructure, maximize the amount of clean electricity power lines can carry (through grid-enhancing technologies), and reduce bottlenecks in the process to develop and improve transmission lines. Expand clean, affordable energy by launching an Energy Storage Procurement Program, which directs the Illinois Power Agency to create a long-term energy storage procurement plan to meet future energy goals, and give more households, nonprofit groups and public facilities access to battery storage. (Battery storage is important because it can store solar and wind energy for use even during times when clean energy isn’t being produced.) Launch a “virtual power plant” initiative to pool thousands of small solar and storage projects to replace dirty, outdated, and expensive power […]

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Q&A: Updates to the Carbon-free Resource Adjustment

Jim Chilsen — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 15:20:33 +0000

CUB has been getting calls about a line-item on ComEd bills called the Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment, or CFRA. Over its first year on ComEd bills, the CFRA delivered a total of about $2.4 billion in credits to consumers. But this summer the CFRA became a charge. Here’s some background. What is the Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment (CFRA)? The Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment (CFRA) was created by a provision in the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act , or CEJA, groundbreaking energy legislation in Illinois. The CFRA was meant to give a subsidy over five years to Illinois nuclear power plants (Bryon, Dresden and Braidwood) to support lower-cost carbon-free energy when market prices were below a certain level. CEJA also requires nuclear plant owners to pay consumers in the form of a bill credit if whole energy prices skyrocketed above a certain level. The idea was that if energy prices were high, the nuclear plants would earn more and wouldn’t need the extra subsidy. That led to the CFRA being a credit over most of the past year. The CFRA, which is in effect through 2027, appears as a per-kilowatt-hour charge or credit on bills. How has the CFRA appeared on bills? Due to a spike in natural gas prices and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among other causes, market electricity prices skyrocketed in the summer of 2022, when the CFRA was first put on customer bills. That made the CFRA a per-kWh credit–totaling an average of about $18-25 a month through May of 2023, depending on an individual customer’s usage. According to a ComEd filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), here’s what the CFRA has looked like since 2022: Credit: 4.306 cents per kilowatt hour (¢/kWh) from June through September 2022. Credit: 4.115 ¢/kWh in October and November of 2022. Credit: 2.384¢/kWh from December 2022 through February 2023. Credit: 0.033¢/kWh from March through May 2023. Charge: 1.241¢/kWh beginning in June through September. Charge: 1.092¢/kWh beginning Oct. 1. Charge: 1.354¢/kWh beginning Nov. 1. Charge: 1.562¢/kWh beginning Dec. 1. Charge: 1.608¢/kWh beginning Jan. 1. Charge: 1.612¢/kWh beginning Feb. 1. Charge: 2.060¢/kWh beginning March 1. Charge: 2.339¢/kWh beginning April 1. Charge: 1.355¢/kWh beginning May 1. Charge: 0.880¢/kWh beginning June 1. Charge: 0.698¢/kWh beginning July 1. Note: The CFRA began to be updated monthly in October 2023, ComEd says, “to further align the credits or charges with payments to or from nuclear plants.” Why did the CFRA drop so drastically and then become a charge? A complex mix of factors—including the drop in energy prices, the timing of power purchases and ComEd’s overestimation of the credits–combined to first lower the credit and then, as of June 1, make it a charge. ComEd based the amount of the credit on forward market prices, which turned out to be too high, causing the utility to overestimate the amount of the credit in the first year by about $1.1 billion. As of June 1, 2023, the company has been recovering the overestimation from customers, plus 5 percent interest. But remember that the total credit last year was $2.4 billion–so even after the utility collects the $1.1 billion, the […]

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Q&A: ComEd prices are up, but landmark clean energy law has delivered monthly credits on power bills

Jim Chilsen — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 23:05:12 +0000

What happened? ComEd’s electricity price has been elevated since June 1, 2022, but the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), historic clean energy legislation that Illinois adopted in 2021, has delivered more than $1 billion in credits on electricity bills. CUB is pleased Gov. J.B. Pritzker and a bipartisan group of legislators made sure this consumer protection was built into CEJA. How high is ComEd’s power price? ComEd’s supply rate has been elevated for about a year, by between 24 percent to 60 percent. Currently, the rate is 9.665 cents per (kilowatt-hour) kWh. This rate includes the supply price and a transmission charge. ComEd does not profit off the price of electricity—they pass those costs onto customers with no markup. This rate is in effect through May 31, 2023. Energy prices across the globe have been skyrocketing due to a number of factors, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.* The CEJA credit has given consumers some relief from this spike. *Quick explanation: Russia has been a major supplier of natural gas to Europe, but the war disrupted that supply, or at least made it uncertain, creating demand for more gas from the United States. That has helped raise prices in the United States. An extended period of high gas prices often leads to higher electricity prices, because gas is used to generate power. (Read more about the high gas prices.) How much is the CEJA credit? According to a ComEd filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), the rebate, which appears on your bill as the “Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adjustment,” has ranged from .033 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 4.3 cents per kWh on monthly bills. It depends on your usage, but at its highest, the credit averaged from $18 to $20 per month. In total, the credit has collectively delivered an estimated $1.3 billion for residential customers. A complex number of factors, however—including the volatility of the energy markets and the timing of the state’s power purchases—have combined to lower the credit this spring. This is expected to last for several months. How do I qualify for the credit? This credit is going to most ComEd residential customers. You don’t have to apply for it or take any other action. How long will the credit last? The initial credit started on June 1, 2022 and will run through May 31, 2023. How will the credit appear on my bill? The credit appears on ComEd bills as a line item called “Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adjustment.” What provision in CEJA led to this credit? Here’s more detail, according to the ICC: CEJA created a “Carbon Mitigation Credit” designed to give nearly $700 million over five years to keep three nuclear power plants open: Byron, Dresden and Braidwood. CUB Note: Keeping carbon-free nuclear power plants open is the fastest, cheapest way for Illinois to fight climate change, and serves as a bridge to the day when Illinois is fully powered by clean energy. But the Carbon Mitigation program also provides protection to Illinois customers if wholesale energy prices shoot up over a certain level. Amid dramatically high energy prices, the nuclear plants were earning more, so they didn’t need […]

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Q&A: ComEd prices are up, but landmark clean energy law has delivered monthly credits on power bills

Elizabeth — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 15:00:55 +0000

What happened? ComEd’s electricity price has been elevated since June 1, 2022, but the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), historic clean energy legislation that Illinois adopted in 2021, has delivered more than $1 billion in credits on electricity bills. CUB is pleased Gov. J.B. Pritzker and a bipartisan group of legislators made sure this consumer protection was built into CEJA. How high is ComEd’s power price? ComEd’s supply rate has been elevated for about a year, by between 24 percent to 60 percent. Currently, the rate is 9.665 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This rate includes the supply price and a transmission charge. ComEd does not profit off the price of electricity—they pass those costs onto customers with no markup. This rate is in effect through May 31, 2023. Energy prices across the globe have been skyrocketing due to a number of factors, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.* The CEJA credit has given consumers some relief from this spike. *Quick explanation: Russia has been a major supplier of natural gas to Europe, but the war disrupted that supply, or at least made it uncertain, creating demand for more gas from the United States. That has helped raise prices in the United States. An extended period of high gas prices often leads to higher electricity prices, because gas is used to generate power. (Read more about the high gas prices.) How much is the CEJA credit? According to a ComEd filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), the rebate, which appears on your bill as the “Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adjustment,” has ranged from .033 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 4.3 cents per kWh on monthly bills. It depends on your usage, but at its highest, the credit averaged from $18 to $20 per month. In total, the credit has collectively delivered an estimated $1.3 billion for residential customers. A complex number of factors, however—including the volatility of the energy markets and the timing of the state’s power purchases—have combined to lower the credit this spring. This is expected to last for several months. In the fall, CUB expects the credit to go back up. In the meantime, we have tips on how to lower utility bills at CUBHelpCenter.com. How do I qualify for the credit? This credit is going to most ComEd residential customers. You don’t have to apply for it or take any other action. How long will the credit last? The initial credit started on June 1, 2022 and will run through May 31, 2023. Energy markets are up and down, but the expectation is that the Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adjustment will continue to be a credit for at least another year. How will the credit appear on my bill? The credit appears on ComEd bills as a line item called “Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adjustment.” What provision in CEJA led to this credit? Here’s more detail, according to the ICC: CEJA created a “Carbon Mitigation Credit” designed to give nearly $700 million over five years to keep three nuclear power plants open: Byron, Dresden and Braidwood. CUB Note: Keeping carbon-free nuclear power plants open is the fastest, cheapest way for Illinois to fight climate change, […]

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CEJA set to deliver over $480 million in tax-related refunds

Elizabeth — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 16:51:04 +0000

ComEd customers will get $434 million and Ameren Illinois electric customers $50.8 million in refunds over the next three years, under a plan called for by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and OK’d by state regulators this summer. The case was tied to an ongoing dispute among the utilities and consumer advocates over how utilities should give customers a refund connected to the federal corporate tax cut that went into effect in 2018. In 2017, Congress approved cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. That left utilities with excess money (called “EDIT,” for excess deferred income taxes) since under their accounting procedures the higher taxes were included in the rates customers pay. The utilities wanted decades to return that money to customers–39 years in the case of ComEd and 35 years for Ameren. CUB and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office argued for just a few years. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) ruled in the utilities’ favor several times on this issue, and the refunds–under the utilities’ preferred schedule–began in 2019. But consumer advocates added a provision in CEJA that required ComEd and Ameren to pass through a portion of the refunds by the end of 2025. The new ICC case set a timeline on how the money will be spread through the three years. The bulk of excess tax funds will still go to customers over decades—because federal tax law requires that the taxes associated with the refund be spread out over the course of the estimated life of physical assets (poles and other electric utility equipment). The CEJA provision concerned a subset of those funds—worth hundreds of millions of dollars—not subject to the federal code. “At a time of high energy prices across the globe, this is welcome news,” CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said in a statement. “We are thankful that other consumer advocates like Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul never gave up on this battle, fighting to ensure that electric customers received these refunds over just a few years, rather than the decades the utilities favored.”

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ComEd customers seeing average $18 bill credit thanks to CEJA

Elizabeth — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 18:40:43 +0000

Thanks to a provision in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), ComEd customers have begun to see a credit averaging about $18 a month on their summer bills. The credits are expected to total $1 billion over the next 12 months, and give some relief for consumers who are struggling with skyrocketing power prices. The credit, for most ComEd customers, began in June. It’s listed as the “Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adjustment” on their bills. Read CUB’s Q&A for more information. It’s a per-kilowatt-hour credit, so it will vary by customer. Check 0ut some of the June bills we’ve seen with the credit.

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CUB Statement on $83 Million Ameren Rate-Hike Request

Jim Chilsen — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 21:59:43 +0000

Ameren Illinois customers have just suffered through one of the most expensive winter heating seasons in more than a decade, and now they face an $83 million electric rate-hike request. This is bad news for consumers, and it’s why we’re working to ensure the consumer-friendly rate-setting system (created by the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA) works as intended. CUB will review Ameren’s rate-hike request and fight every dollar the company can’t justify. The “formula rate” system has not been kind to consumers over the years, but the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) is replacing it with a rate-setting system that gives the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) more authority. Illinois must take advantage of the opportunity presented by CEJA to maximize benefits for electric customers across the state. -David Kolata, executive director, Citizens Utility Board (CUB) BACKGROUND On Thursday, April 14, Ameren announced it was requesting that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) increase the utility’s delivery rates by $83,187,000.00.The ICC will rule on the case in December, and new rates would take effect on Jan. 1. 2023. The increase affects delivery charges—what all customers pay to have the electricity delivered to their homes. Those charges take up about a third to a half of the bill. This is the last time delivery rates will be set according to the state’s 2011 “Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act,” or the “smart-grid bill.” That law used a formula to determine Ameren rates annually to cover electric system upgrades. CUB did not support the smart-grid legislation, citing too few consumer protections. In 2021, the group helped pass the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA. The new Illinois law aims to replace formula rates with a system that gives the ICC more authority and puts more emphasis on customer priorities, such as affordability and reliability.

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CUB Statement on $199 Million ComEd Rate-Hike Request

Sophia — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 18:11:28 +0000

This is the statement CUB released on Friday, April 15: This is bad news for Illinois consumers who are coming off the most expensive winter heating season in more than decade, and it’s why we’re working to build a more consumer-friendly rate-setting system in Illinois. CUB will review ComEd’s rate-hike request and fight every dollar that can’t be justified. The “formula rate” system, at the heart of ComEd’s corruption scandal, has led to hundreds of millions of dollars in rate hikes over the years. But thanks to the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), CUB and other consumer advocates are working to build a system that gives the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) more authority and maximizes consumer benefits. CEJA also supports a process before the ICC to investigate a ComEd refund in connection with the company’s scandal. CUB calls on ComEd to do the right thing and give its customers a fair refund—much more than the $21 million it has proposed. BACKGROUND On Friday, April 15, ComEd announced it was requesting that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) increase the utility’s delivery rates by $199 million. The ICC will rule on the case in December. This rate hike is reportedly the largest by ComEd in eight years, and it would increase the average residential customer’s monthly bill by about $2.20 beginning Jan. 1, 2023. The increase affects delivery charges—what all customers pay to have the electricity delivered to their homes. Those charges take up about a third to a half of the bill. This is the last time delivery rates will be set according to the state’s 2011 “Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act,” or the “smart-grid bill.” That law uses a formula to determine ComEd rates annually to cover electric system upgrades. CUB did not support the smart-grid legislation, citing too few consumer protections. In 2021, the group helped pass the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA. The new Illinois law aims to replace formula rates with a system that gives the ICC more authority and puts more emphasis on customer priorities like affordability and reliability. CEJA also called for a state regulatory investigation into ComEd giving consumers a refund in connection with the company’s corruption scandal. CUB has fought for a refund on multiple fronts, including before the ICC, where the watchdog is pushing for ComEd to give its customers a refund that is more than double the $21 million the company has proposed.

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Illinois consumers rally to pass CEJA: “A bill for Illinoisans historically and systematically shut out and forgotten”

Hannah — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:52:33 +0000

Consumers from across the state gathered on Zoom and Facebook today for a virtual environmental justice lobby day in support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), comprehensive energy legislation currently before the Illinois General Assembly. The second virtual lobby day, today’s event saw Illinois residents meeting with their legislators over Zoom calls and urging them to ensure the concerns of marginalized communities are addressed in upcoming legislation. Consumers also gathered at a virtual rally to discuss current environmental justice bills, including CEJA. “CEJA is a bill for Illinoisans historically and systematically shut out and forgotten. CEJA is unapologetically a bill for workers and contractors who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color,” said Hilary Scott-Ogunrinde, a rally speaker from Macedonia Development in East Saint Louis. “CEJA is a bill for urban Illinois, for rural Illinois. It’s a bill for blue collar and white collar workers.” The clean energy legislation is the most pro-consumer energy plan in Springfield. It would require ComEd to give a refund to customers for its corruption scandal, implement a historic expansion of energy efficiency, and end an unfair rate-setting system that has opened the door to a decade of Ameren and ComEd rate hikes. CEJA would also put the Illinois Power Agency in charge of managing a key part of the electricity market in ComEd territory, creating the opportunity to save consumers money while greatly expanding clean energy investment. At its center, CEJA promotes racial and socioeconomic equity through programs designed to address some of the structural barriers that have kept Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) businesses and communities from receiving the benefits of clean energy policies. For example, CEJA would establish an equity points system that rewards companies based on how closely they follow various equity actions, such as maintaining a Black, Indigenous and people of color workforce. Among other provisions, it would also help develop and fund clean energy entrepreneurship and business development in BIPOC communities. More generally, the bill would implement various goals and standards for the state, such as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants that most often impact BIPOC and environmental justice communities the worst. “We are here today because we care about leaving an Illinois that my sons, and your sons and daughters, and your grandchildren can thrive in,” Scott-Ogunrinde said. “We are here to act, we are here to build clean, green thriving communities throughout the entire state of Illinois.” Today’s rally kicked off the Illinois Clean Job Coalition’s Week of Action, five days worth of events and actions to make your support for clean, affordable energy and environmental justice clear to your elected officials. Below are other actions to take throughout the week. Hold Utilities Accountable for Their Actions: The House Energy and Environment Committee is holding an important hearing on how future legislation, including CEJA, can hold large utility companies more accountable to the people they serve in light of ComEd corruption. Catch the hearing live at 4:30 pm on Tuesday to follow the latest updates on utility accountability, a critical component of the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Tune in […]

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