A Chicago alderperson is calling on the city to force ComEd to the bargaining table and demand relief for electric customers who’ve been hit with skyrocketing bills thanks to a June 1 rate hike and scorching hot summer.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) wants the city to finally renew the long-expired power-service agreement that ComEd is operating under, and for Mayor Brandon Johnson to negotiate more relief money for people struggling to pay their electric bills as part of the deal.
“We have a franchise agreement with ComEd, from the city of Chicago, that is yet to be finalized… everything’s on the table,” Villegas said at a news conference Wednesday. “There has to be a real, candid discussion as to: What are we going to do to make sure that people are not having to choose between eggs, milk and keeping the lights on?”
The agreement that allows ComEd to provide electricity to residents and businesses in Chicago has been expired for nearly five years and was negotiated in the 90s under Mayor Richard M. Daley. It allows the company to continue providing electricity even after expiration.
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot reached a deal with ComEd in early 2023, but failed to get approval from City Council members who said they did not have enough time to vet the agreement as she pushed for a vote just a month before she was denied a second term at the polls.
So far, negotiating a new so-called franchise agreement has not been a public priority for Mayor Brandon Johnson.
But in a statement, a spokesperson said Johnson has “actively engaged” with utility companies to advocate for Chicagoans facing growing utility bills and that “one key next step is to move forward with negotiations toward a new, transformational electricity franchise agreement.”
“Mayor Johnson has already taken action by reestablishing the Chicago Department of Environment, which now oversees the franchise agreement,” the statement reads. “He has directed the Department to initiate a new round of negotiations with ComEd. These talks must deliver meaningful progress on affordability, climate goals, and community benefits. Chicago is ready to lead, and our utility partners must match that urgency and commitment.”
The Lightfoot deal would have included an “Energy and Equity Agreement” that would have required ComEd to spend millions of dollars to help the city reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions 62% percent by 2040.
Ald. Matt Martin (47th), who was not at Wednesday’s news conference, said while he didn’t support rushing Lightfoot’s proposal through, “there were some good steps” in the deal that he hasn’t heard anything about since. He said it is long past due that the city inks a new service agreement with ComEd, particularly as rates spike and the Trump Administration targets funding for renewable energy.
“Two and a half years have lapsed — so that means two and a half years of a real missed opportunity to hold that utility accountable… and [figure out] how they’re going to ensure that we can meet our growing demand for electricity as quantum and data centers continue to grow across Chicago,” Martin said.
ComEd’s rate hikes this summer are directly related to the high demand across the country, exacerbated by big data centers and artificial intelligence operations. New sources of renewable energy have been slow to get connected to the multi-state electric grid that serves Northern Illinois. That’s important because coal plants, once the dominant source of energy, are closing due to economic and environmental reasons. Meanwhile, power demand is rising rapidly to meet the needs of AI and datacenters.
A ComEd customer who normally pays around $100 a month on average is seeing a spike of almost $11 on power bills. That’s on top of a surge in electricity use during the summer heat.
This month, ComEd offered a pot of $10 million to offer $500 grants to customers who can’t pay their electric bills.
But the one-time relief fund closed after three weeks due to overwhelming demand and more than 77,000 applicants, a ComEd spokesperson said.
The $10 million is “absolutely not” adequate, Villegas said.
“The fact that they put $10 million on the table, I think, was a good start,” Villegas said. “The reality is — it was very paltry, and we have to make sure that it’s more robust because of the fact that the price of electricity is getting higher. We want to have [state regulators] involved.”
Villegas is also calling on ComEd to testify before the Council, along with the Illinois Commerce Commission which is tasked with utility consumer protection, and representatives from the mayor’s office or other relevant city departments.
ComEd said it’s passing along costs related to the national demand from data centers. Last spring, state lawmakers failed in an effort to add more renewable energy to help meet demand. In a statement, the company said it is open to work with government and business officials on the problem.
“With more work to be done to address rising demand for energy, we stand ready to work with a wide range of stakeholders and policymakers to advance energy policies that will ensure we can keep the grid reliable and resilient, while maintaining affordability for customers across our communities.”
Martin fears the city lost some leverage it previously had when ComEd was facing reputational damage for being at the center of a $1.3 million bribery scandal involving former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. The federal investigation into the utility is winding down, with almost all of the major players now sentenced, but Martin said ComEd should still be motivated to get a deal done.
“They have a responsibility to help ensure that electricity is provided in an affordable and reliable way, and that they’re not misusing public funds the way that they have in prior decades that caused many people to go to prison, and they lost a lot of public trust as a result,” he said.
“At the end of the day, we need them to do more, and that’s why it’s so critical to hear from the Johnson administration where things stand with those negotiations.”