Statement By CUB Executive Director David Kolata On ComEd Rate Cut

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Dec 10, 2015, 12:59 ET

CHICAGO, Dec. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "According to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), Commonwealth Edison customers on Jan. 1 will receive a delivery rate reduction of about $67 million. This is a promising development for Illinois seniors and families who are accustomed to hearing bad news about their utility bills. We hope this decrease is a sign that ComEd has taken a step forward in building a more efficient and reliable power grid that gives consumers the opportunity to save money. Illinois has a long way to go to build a power grid that maximizes consumer benefits and our message to the state's biggest electric utility is: Don't stop now. We are paying for these power grid upgrades, so we deserve the benefits."

Background:

*The ICC approved a ComEd rate cut in a 5-0 vote on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The 2.58 percent rate decrease takes effect Jan. 1, 2016. ComEd said the cut will amount to a decrease of about $1 on the average monthly residential bill. The ruling gives the company a 9.09 percent return on equity, or profit rate for shareholders.

*ComEd's original request was a rate cut of about $50.4 million, filed in April. CUB plans to file a petition for rehearing, asking the ICC for a bigger reduction.

*The decrease affects delivery charges—what all customers pay to have electricity delivered to their homes. Those charges take up about a third to a half of the bill. Everyone will enjoy the lower rates—even those with an alternative supplier.

*The new rates were 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 for the next several years to pay for about $2.6 billion in system upgrades.

*Illinois' new way of setting electric rates limits how much consumer advocates and regulators can protect customers from rate increases, but each year CUB works to secure the lowest rates possible by reviewing ComEd's spending, and protesting unjustified capital and operational expenditures. CUB also is pushing ComEd to live up to its promise to build a more affordable power grid that reduces inefficiency, improves reliability and gives customers the chance to save money by taking part in money-saving electricity plans. For more information, visit www.CUBSmartPower.com.

CUB is Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, it has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline, 1-800-669-5556, or visit its award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.

SOURCE Citizens Utility Board