ComEd Officials 'Heckled' and 'Berated' at Highland Park Hearing Tuesday

Elmhurst City Manager Jim Grabowski delivered a statement Tuesday to ComEd at a Public Utilities Hearing in Highland Park.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that ComEd representatives were "heckled by customers and berated by lawmakers" at the six-hour hearing.

ComEd officials put much of the blame for multiple and extended power outages on the weather, according to the article. Elmhurst saw averaging 82 minutes in length in 2010, and that's after ComEd excluded 22 "storm days."

ComEd officials also used the Tuesday hearing to lobby for the Smart Grid bill, which would allow ComEd to continually raise rates to consumers over the next 10 years, according to Elmhurst aldermen, while implementing Smart Grid technology in northern Illinois. 

Elmhurst aldermen are calling on Gov. Pat Quinn to veto the bill, calling it a "Trojan Horse" for ComEd to manipulate rate increases without having to go through the Illinois Commerce Commission for 10 years. The Citizen Utility Board also has come out against the measure. Quinn has said he intends to veto the bill.

But at the HIghland Park hearing yesterday, ComEd officials claimed that Smart Grid technology would prevent 15 to 20 percent of power outages and help workers respond more quickly to outages. A ComEd official said it would cost customers $3 a month over the 10 years and provide ComEd a 10.25 percent profit margin the first three years.