The Community Partners Behind the Success of ComEd’s Customer Relief Fund
September 30, 2025
In early July 2025, ComEd enlisted the support of two trusted community organizations – The Salvation Army and Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago – to administer ComEd’s one-time Customer Relief Fund.
The $10 million fund, created through ComEd’s parent company, Exelon, was designed to help customers who were behind in their ComEd bills by offering grants up to $500 to qualifying residential customers, and up to $1,000 to qualifying nonprofit organizations. As of Sep. 25, $8.1 million in grants have been approved for approximately 30,000 residential and nonprofit customers.
Anthony E. Simpkins, NHS President & CEO, speaks at CRF press conference
Over the course of three weeks, both The Salvation Army and NHS processed more than 77,000 applications for grants, shining a spotlight on the level of need that northwest Illinois families and community organizations currently face.
“Administering the Customer Relief Fund was a rewarding experience for NHS, knowing we were having an impact on the financial wellbeing of residents and their ability to meet their energy costs,” said Karen Woods, NHS’ director of Strategic Initiatives and Public Grants and Contracts. “Anytime NHS has an opportunity to bring more resources to our clients, we’ll take that opportunity to do so. This is important because the need is so great across the city of Chicago and among those that NHS attempt to assist.”
For The Salvation Army, administering the fund brought them even closer to the realities of those needs.
“Our clients told us that they were getting ready to make a choice,” said Maj. Caleb Senn, The Salvation Army’s North and Central Illinois Division General Secretary and Chicago Area Commander. “They said, ‘Do I pay my bills, or do I keep food on the table? Do I pay my bills, or do I buy clothes and backpacks for my kids to go back to school?’ Because of the Customer Relief Fund, these families didn’t have to make that choice. They were able to do both and that was the goal.”
Major Caleb Senn, The Salvation Army Chicago Area Commander, speaks at CRF press conference
Accepting relief fund applications had additional benefits to the administering agencies as well.
“By administering the fund, The Salvation Army was able to engage clients with our system support services,” Senn said. “If they showed up with children, we connected them to our backpack drive and after-school program. We can help with housing issues, including rental and mortgage support. By administering the relief fund, we became more of a one-stop shop to help move residents into pattern of self-sustainability to break that cycle of poverty.”
“By bringing applicants into our offices, NHS is able to build awareness of the other services we offer,” Woods added. “We’re able to communicate with them about other assistance programs that we might have available and educational services that would be helpful in terms of managing their overall daily household needs.”
During the application period, the Customer Relief Fund provided another support option to ComEd’s existing menu of bill assistance and energy management options, which so far this year has helped connect 140,000 customers to more than $72 million in financial and other bill support. It also serves as a bridge to the January 2026 launch of ComEd’s forthcoming Low-Income Discount program in January 2026, which will provide income-eligible customers with a flat monthly discount on their energy bills, reducing the long-term energy burden for those most in need.
ComEd representative helps Englewood resident with bill-assistance information
“Our team definitely learned about the range of assistance programs and payment options that are available through ComEd,” Woods said. “This information is something that we can share with our clients going forward through the delivery of our other services.”
“As the year wears on, we enter the season of gratitude,” Senn added. “It’s amazing when businesses and organizations work together, how many more people can be helped and how many more people can feel that burden lifted.”
For more information on ComEd bill-assistance options, and other offerings to help you manage future bills, visit ComEd.com/BillSupport.
