(The Center Square) – ComEd customers in Illinois can expect much higher electric bills this summer.
Citizens Utility Board Communications Director Jim Chilsen said that ComEd’s supply price is expected to rise on June 1 by more than 10 cents per kilowatt hour, or about 45% higher than it was last June.
“Customers could easily end up paying well over a hundred dollars extra on their power bills over the next twelve months, and the infuriating fact is that this was a completely preventable situation,” Chilsen said.
Chilsen blamed the price spikes on PJM, the regional grid operator in ComEd’s territory.
“Because of poor policy at PJM, we will pay higher summer electric bills and big power plant operators will laugh all the way to the bank,” Chilsen said.
Chilsen said consumers could expect the higher prices to be in effect until at least May 2026, with summer rates affecting prices from June through October.
Chilsen said the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) would help lessen the pain for ComEd customers by providing a credit that will reduce the price spike by about 17%.
Chilsen said ComEd does not profit off the supply part of the bill, but big power-generating companies are making a killing. According to CUB, large power generators recently saw their PJM capacity revenue jump six-fold to $14.7 billion.
Chilsen urged Illinoisans to support the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act.
“This proposed legislation would implement a number of common-sense, pro-consumer policies. For example, it would expand energy efficiency programs, and it would require data centers to pay for their own energy costs rather than burdening consumers with those costs,” Chilsen said.
Senate Bill 2473 and House Bill 3779 are CRGA measures currently under consideration. CUB says the bills would promote “wise power grid planning.”
Critics like state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, say so-called clean-energy provisions of CEJA and other measures have raised costs and driven jobs out of Illinois.
“We’re seeing skyrocketing energy costs, unreliable service, and increasing dependence on imported electricity, which is often less clean than what we used to produce here,” Halbrook said. “Meanwhile, we’re losing good-paying jobs and prematurely closing coal and natural gas plants that have powered our homes and communities.”
SB 2473 and HB 3779 have yet to make it out of committee. The General Assembly’s spring legislative session is scheduled to end May 31.
Greg Bishop and Catrina Barker contributed to this story.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
