Starting in May, ComEd residential customers will see a more than $2 drop in their energy bills thanks to last year’s passage of the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA).
FEJA, energy legislation that passed the Illinois General Assembly with broad bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner last year, helps to pivot Illinois to the new clean economy by growing renewable energy resources and significantly expanding energy efficiency programs that help customers save energy and money.
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) recently gave ComEd the go ahead to begin transitioning to a new system and way of funding efficiency programs. FEJA will increase funding for energy efficiency from $250 million up to $400 million per year by 2030, creating more than $4 billion in consumer savings
Here is what’s ahead for customers’ bills in 2017, pending ICC approval of additional filings related to the transition:
- From May through September, customers will see the energy efficiency charge on their bills zero out – a change from about $2 /month for the average residential customer today.
- Around October, customers can expect a one-time refund for the retiring programs.
- In November and December, the EE charge on customer bills will level out to an amount significantly less than the prior $2/month average.
New, expanded energy efficiency programs will begin in January 2018. Charges for the new programs will begin to appear on customer bills at that time. While the amount of that charge is not yet known, it is expected to be significantly less than what customers pay today.
The recent drop in energy bills is attributed to a new way of accounting for energy efficiency costs, which allows ComEd to spread the costs over time, rather than charging for them all upfront. This new accounting method will enable ComEd to provide more energy efficiency options to customers, helping them achieve even greater financial and environmental benefits.
