ComEd Seeks Rate Hike to Pay for Smart Grid

Commonwealth Edison Co. has filed to boost its electricity rates by nearly a dollar per month next year to finance local power-grid improvements it's making under the 2011 “smart grid” law that permitted the utility to hike its charges annually per a set formula, Crain's Chicago Business is reporting.

ComEd's rate on an average residential bill will climb 97 cents from today's rates, Crain's reported from an April 30 news release.

The Illinois Commerce Commission will review the request under provisions in the new law that sharply curtail regulators' leeway to reject the utility's costs and profit margins.

ComEd's delivery rates actually will decline from June though December of 2012 because its authorized return under the law is less than the return last approved by the ICC under the old rules. But rates then will climb again in 2013, according to Crain's.

The law authorizes ComEd to recover from ratepayers $2.6 billion over the next decade, in part to outfit all 3.8 million of its residential and business customers with so-called “smart meters” that enable the utility to record customer usage remotely and allow consumers to save on their bills by using fewer appliances during high-demand periods. Also, ComEd will upgrade aging parts of its local grid.

ComEd also released on Tuesday a progress report on the upgrades it has made during the first quarter.

In the first three months of the 10-year plan, ComEd has replaced or "injected" about 140 miles of cable, the release states.

By year-end, ComEd promises to replace more than 450 miles of underground cable and replace or reinforce about 2,500 wooden electricity poles. Also, the company says it will have installed more than 450 that detect and re-route power around potential problems on the system, reducing the duration of power outages. That upgrade will serve about 200,000 customers.

To date, about 120 distribution automation devices have been installed, and some of this work has been done in Elmhurst. ComEd is also focused on tree-trimming in Elmhurst to reduce outages.

The company also noted upgrades to manholes, lighting enhancements and installation of fuses and spacer cable in various areas.

"Ultimately, the grid modernization investments will help ComEd significantly reduce outages and will give customers the tools to manage their energy usage and save money," according to the release.