As power prices skyrocket, ComEd is offering financial assistance to some of its 4 million customers who can’t pay their electric bills.
The utility is offering individuals grants of $500 each and providing nonprofit groups that help those struggling to pay their bills up to $1,000 each. A total of $10 million is available under the program.
Customers can apply for assistance beginning July 7 by going online at www.comed.com. To be eligible for the program, people have to show they fall below federal poverty levels and have a past-due balance on their account.
Electric rates went up June 1. Most customers will see the increases on their bills next month.
A ComEd customer who normally pays around $100 a month on average will see a spike of almost 11% on upcoming power bills.
The rate increases are due to demand for electricity across the country. One of the biggest increases in demand is coming from the rapid development of large data centers, especially those powering artificial intelligence.
There is not enough power to keep up with the need. One of the problems is that new sources of electricity, including solar and wind power, are not being built fast enough to replace the coal-fired power plants that were once the dominant source of electricity.
Coal plants are being retired because they’re not economically viable any longer and policies in Illinois and across the U.S. have accelerated their closure because they create harmful air pollution that also emits greenhouse gases causing climate change.
Outdated policies and infrastructure have been blamed for the slow transition to cleaner renewable energy?
Gov. JB Pritzker and other politicians have blamed regional grid operator PJM, which serves Northern Illinois, for the slow shift to green power, though Illinois lawmakers failed to pass much-needed reform policies and incentives when they adjourned their recent legislative session.
PJM has also denied it is the cause of the problem.
ComEd is holding an event in Ford Heights on Thursday to announce the grant.