ComEd seeks record-high $1.5 billion rate hike over next four years

CHICAGO - Chicago-area households could see their electric bills bump up by $6.72 per month next year  — and that would only be the first of three straight annual hikes under a record-high $1.5 billion rate increase request filed by ComEd on Tuesday.

The utility’s four-year, phased-in rate hike would include similar increases in power delivery rates in 2025 and 2026, followed by a slight reduction in 2027, according to ComEd’s filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission.

By then, the average monthly residential bill would be about $17 higher than today’s average cost of $93 — an 18% jump.

ComEd says that’s the cost of bolstering the region’s electric grid in a statewide effort to phase out carbon emissions and of protecting the system from severe weather damage as it becomes more common due to climate change.

"ComEd has a critical role in ensuring the transition to cleaner energy is reliable and equitable for all," ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said in a statement. "These proposed investments are necessary to deliver the resilient 24/7 power our customers depend on, prepare the grid for fleets of electric vehicles and electrification, integrate more clean energy and battery storage, and equitably advance a decarbonized energy future."

Consumer advocates at the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois criticized the utility’s proposal, which also seeks to increase ComEd’s return on equity, or profit rate, from about 8% to 10.5%.

"The profit rate for shareholders is excessive. CUB and other consumer advocates will fight it," the organization tweeted.

Next year’s proposed rate hike of roughly $847 million on its own is more than the $827 million that rates climbed over the previous 11 years combined.

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By 2027, rates will have more than doubled since 2012, according to the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.

"ComEd will no doubt justify its massive proposed rate hike by the need to invest in the grid to transition to clean energy," PIRG Director Abe Scarr said in a statement. "But as vital as the clean energy transition is, it cannot mean a blank check for ComEd to raise rates and fatten Exelon’s profits."

Scarr quipped that the utility could "make out like bandits," referring to a comment from former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan that was captured on a federal wiretap and as part of the racketeering and bribery case against him.

The feds have accused Madigan of seeking jobs, contracts and money for his associates from now-former ComEd executives, in exchange for his help passing legislation favorable to the utility. That included a formula rate law that gave ComEd some leeway to adjust its rates without regulator approval.

Madigan, slated for trial next year, has pleaded not guilty.

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce endorsed ComEd’s rate hike plan, saying it "will keep Illinois competitive."

"As businesses continue to increase their electrification needs, an affordable, reliable, and clean grid has never been more critical," chamber president  Jack Lavin said in a statement.

Under a landmark clean-energy law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2021, the state is aiming to eliminate all carbon emissions from power plants by 2050.

The Commerce Commission has until December to decide whether the rate hikes are justified.

Regulators at that agency have a full plate this year following massive increase requests from Nicor and Peoples Gas, which is seeking its own all-time high rate hike of $402 million. That means Chicago customers will be shelling out an average of $18.55 more per month on energy bills next year if the Peoples and ComEd increases are approved.