Supporting Customers

How “Smart” Investments are Paying Off for Customers

April 26, 2016
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Providing safe, reliable, affordable electricity to more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois is our core mission. And we know how important it is that we continue to deliver on our promise – to drive cost-savings, provide reliable power and maximize value for our customers through the smart grid.

With the flip of a switch, each and every customer relies on us to deliver power in the most efficient and effective manner possible. And each and every day, our employees work hard to come through for our customers, improving their service and experience.

Our commitment to delivering for customers is why we are making significant investments in our delivery system, and why we strive to be at the forefront of making both our grid and our region “smarter.” These investments are dramatically changing the energy landscape. As a result, power is more reliable than ever with 30 percent fewer outages in storms and 30 percent faster restoration times after storms and more money-saving opportunities for our customers.

One important part of this equation is cost management. Always a bedrock principle, strong financial management is never more important than when undertaking a historic, $2.6 billion investment to modernize the grid. In addition to cost savings from improved reliability, strong financial stewardship is why in December 2015 we were able to announce a rate decrease for 2016, passing back $66.7 million in savings to our customers.

Thanks to our investments in the system, since 2012 there have been more than 5.8 million avoided customer interruptions. That has not only kept businesses and homes humming, but it has saved customers an estimated $175 million.

Behind these improvements has been a steady buildup of digital infrastructure. ComEd has installed nearly 2 million smart meters throughout the region, with 2 million more set to be installed by 2018. That means in just 2 short years, everyone in our territory will have access to the smart grid and all the benefits it brings.

At the same time, we are delivering energy savings to our customers – part of our commitment to affordability and to the clean energy future we all want. It is our job to help usher in these advancements in sustainability that will help save money and benefit the environment.

ComEd is bringing this commitment to life through one of the largest energy efficiency programs in the nation; one which offers energy efficiency solutions to help empower our customers to take greater control of their energy consumption and achieve real cost savings.

We call it the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program, and it has helped customers save more than $1.5 billion on their electric bills, eliminated 21.6 billion pounds of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere – the equivalent of removing 2 million cars from the road – and reduced energy usage by more than 14.3 million megawatt-hours – enough energy to power more than 1.5 million homes for a year.

We are proud to be delivering value for our customers – from improved reliability, to cost savings, to more choices and a premier customer experience. They can count on ComEd not just to deliver power but to be a trusted energy partner.