CUB Alerts ComEd Customers About Lower Power Prices
Contact:
Jim Chilsen, [email protected], (312) 513-1784
CHICAGO, June 01, 2016—The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) on Wednesday alerted Northern Illinois consumers about a decrease in Commonwealth Edison’s summer electricity price.
As of June 1, ComEd’s “price to compare”—the rate customers compare to alternative supplier offers—has dropped about 11 percent. According to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), this is the new ComEd price:
New Supply Rates
June – September 2016:
6.19 cents kilowatt-hour (kWh)*
Note: This price includes ComEd’s supply rate (4.928 cents per kWh) plus a transmission services charge (1.262 cents per kWh).
The non-summer price, October 2016 through May 2017, has not been finalized. However, the ICC has an estimate of the price: 6.308 cents per kWh. ComEd has estimated that people on the company’s supply rates could save an average of about $3 per month over the next year.
Any consumer with an alternative power supplier—including those on community power deals—should compare his or her price to ComEd’s rates above. CUB also has a free calculator, at www.CUBPowerCalculator.com, to help consumers determine the best deal for them.
“Everyone should look at their power bills and make sure they’re not paying too much with an alternative electricity supplier,” CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said. “With the warmer weather, door-to-door alternative supplier marketers will be out. Arm yourself with the facts, so you don’t get lured into bad deals.”
Shoppers evaluating an alternative supplier offer should use CUB’s calculator and follow these tips:
- Don’t give out your electric bill or account number unless you are sure you want to switch. If you do, an unethical marketer could use that information to switch you to an alternative supplier without your consent.
- Ask if the rate you are being offered is an introductory or promotional rate, and if so, when does that rate end and what will be the new rate.
- Ask if the rate you’re being offered has any fees tied to it—such as an exit fee, or a monthly fee that will inflate the per-kWh rate. Exit fees are capped at $50, and you can avoid getting slapped with one if you cancel a contract within 10 days once the supplier’s charges first appear on the bill.
Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, the nonprofit utility watchdog group has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more details, call CUB’s Consumer Hotline, 1-800-669-5556, or visit CUB’s award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.
