{"id":42911,"date":"2025-05-19T10:17:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T15:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/?p=42911"},"modified":"2025-05-20T07:22:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:22:16","slug":"cub-warns-of-june-1-price-spike-on-comed-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2025\/05\/19\/cub-warns-of-june-1-price-spike-on-comed-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"CUB Warns of June 1 Price Spike on ComEd Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Commonwealth Edison\u2019s summer price for electricity is set to increase significantly on June 1, but Illinois\u2019 landmark energy law, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), will give consumers some relief, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) said Monday<\/strong><\/a>, citing filings by the utility. CUB urged ComEd to work with customers struggling to afford their bills this summer, and said the elevated price highlights the need for long-term reforms.<\/p>\n

At a news conference, CUB explained the causes of the price spike and said it has launched CUBHelpCenter.com<\/a><\/strong>, which has consumer tips on how to get through an expensive summer.<\/p>\n

While cautioning that pricing information could be adjusted before June 1, CUB said its preliminary review of ComEd tariffs filed Friday shows the utility\u2019s summer supply rate, June through September, would be about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh)<\/strong>. This rate, which includes the supply price and a transmission charge, would represent about a 45 percent increase over last June\u2019s price of 6.9\u00a2 per kWh. The price will change again in October.<\/p>\n

CEJA will partly offset the price spike. The law requires a line item on ComEd bills called the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA) to subsidize energy generated by Illinois nuclear power plants. But consumer advocates pushed for a provision that changes the charge to a credit when energy prices go above a certain level, as in June. According to CUB\u2019s review of ComEd tariffs, this credit will reduce ComEd\u2019s price by about 1.7 cents per kWh, or about 17 percent, in June. While it could be adjusted up or down on a monthly basis, a credit of some amount is expected to stay on bills for at least the next 12 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re glad CEJA gives customers some relief in the short term, and in the long term we will continue to work at fixing the root causes of this price spike, mainly poor policy from PJM Interconnection, the power grid operator for northern Illinois,\u201d CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said. \u201cAs 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

CUB\u2019s Consumers for a Better Grid campaign<\/a><\/strong> advocates for better PJM policies, and in Springfield the consumer group is working to pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (SB2473\/HB3779). The bill would implement a number of pro-consumer policies, including expanding energy efficiency programs and requiring data centers to pay for their own energy costs, rather than those costs being heaped on consumers.<\/p>\n

CUB provided information about the price spike as well as consumer tips:<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the cause?<\/strong> The price for reserve power\u2014called \u201ccapacity\u201d\u2014has skyrocketed. While higher demand sparked by power-hungry data centers is a factor, this problem is largely because of poor policies undertaken by the regional power grid operator in ComEd territory. PJM has been slow to fix a clogged \u201cinterconnection queue\u201d\u2014the line of power plants, largely wind and solar generators, waiting to connect to the grid. (Read CUB’s Q&A<\/strong><\/a> about the capacity spike.)<\/p>\n

What part of the bill is impacted?<\/strong> Supply, which is the cost of the actual electricity, and transmission. This makes up about a half to two-thirds of bills. ComEd does not profit off this price spike\u2013under law the utility is required to pass supply costs onto customers with no markup. (ComEd profits off of rate hikes on the delivery side of bills.)<\/p>\n

If ComEd doesn\u2019t profit off this price spike, who does?<\/strong> Big energy companies that sell electricity to utilities stand to make a windfall. These power generators recently saw their PJM capacity revenue jump six-fold to $14.7 billion.<\/p>\n

Moskowitz outlined key consumer tips on CUBHelpCenter.com<\/a><\/strong>:<\/p>\n