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CONTENTS
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INFORMATION IN A COMED ELECTRIC BILL
The ComEd bill starts by reporting the amount of electricity used during the billing period--measured in number of kilowatt-hours (kWh). (One kilowatt-hour is equal to using a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours.) This number is then used to calculate most of the itemized charges included in the bill.
Electricity Supply Services are generally the largest portion of the bill and include:
- Electricity Supply Charge, a per-kWh charge to cover the cost to ComEd to purchase the electricity it delivers to your home. (ComEd no longer owns power plants and must buy electricity from the wholesale market.)
- Transmission Services Charge, another per-kWh charge that covers the cost of carrying electricity from the power generator to the utility.
Delivery Services include:
- Customer Charge, a fixed amount that covers the costs of providing a standard service connection and basic customer services;
- Standard Metering Charge, also a fixed amount, to recover the costs of meter reading and servicing the meter equipment;
- Distribution Facilities Charge, a per-kWh charge to cover the costs of delivering power from the utility to your home;
- Electricity Distribution Charge, a per-kWh charge to cover the cost of the Illinois Electricity Distribution Tax.
Taxes and Other includes:
- Environmental Cost Recovery Adjustment, a charge related to the recovery of certain clean-up costs;
- Energy Efficency Programs, to fund the Smart Ideas portfolio of energy efficency incentives mandated by state law;
- Franchise Cost and Taxes.
ComEd also provides a usage profile to help customers understand their energy consumption patterns over time. It shows the monthly electrical usage for the previous 13 months and includes a chart reporting average daily kWh used and average daily temperature for the current month, the previous month, and the previous year. This information can assist customers in identifying those months in which to expect higher usage and higher utility bills.
Customers can review two years of their account history by accessing their account on the ComEd website -- and learn about programs that can save them energy and money by visiting the Home Savings section of the website. Programs of special interest include:
- Refrigerator Recycling--ComEd will pick up and recycle older-model refrigerators and freezers for free--and provide a $50 rebate.
- AC and Furnace Rebates--ComEd, in partnership with local natural gas utilities, offers rebates to customers who install high-efficiency heating and cooling systems.
- Central Air Conditioning Cyling program--Homeowners who have central air conditioning can earn credits on their summer electric bills by allowing ComEd to cycle their air conditioning compressors off and on during heavy-demand summer days. The air conditioning fan will stay on to circulate already cooled air and help keep the home comfortable. Cycling may occur only on weekdays and for limited periods of time.
- Residential Real Time Pricing (RRTP)--Ordinarily, ComEd customers pay a fixed price per kWh of electricity, no matter what time of day they use the power. But in fact, electricity prices fluctuate widely throughout the day. RRTP customers are charged for power based on the actual price of electricity on the wholesale market at the time they use the power. They can save money by changing their usage habits to take advantage of lower-priced time periods.
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