Still grappling with political fallout from a lobbying scandal, ComEd filed for a proposed $199 million increase in electricity delivery charges Friday, seeking the largest rate hike since 2014.
If approved by state regulators, it would add $2.20 per month to the average residential customer bill beginning in January 2023.
The utility is pushing for the rate hike to fund infrastructure investments as electrification and renewable energy place new demands on the power grid. The filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission launches an eight-month process to determine if the increase is warranted.
“The grid was designed decades before widescale adoption of renewables, electric vehicles, digital devices, industrial electrification and emerging sectors like indoor agriculture,” ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said in a news release Friday. “We will continue working with local leaders and community groups to ensure the grid can meet the needs of all customers in the 21st century.”
The proposed $199 million rate increase is the largest by ComEd in eight years, and the last under a formula rate system that has been in place since 2011, which granted the utility control over customer-funded investments to improve its power grid. Beginning in 2023, regulators will have more authority over future rate increases.
Last year, ComEd was granted a $46 million rate increase, which added 16 cents per month to current residential bills.
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