Thousands of lower-income residents in the Chicago area will be eligible for new discounts on their electric bills starting next year as energy costs soar.
ComEd will roll out a low-income discount program starting Jan. 1 for households with incomes up to three times the federal poverty level, issued at different tiers offering more help to those most in need.
The same type of income-based discount program for natural gas bills launched earlier this year for Chicago residents, slashing some bills up to 83%. About 68,000 residents were enrolled in Peoples Gas’ program as of late October, according to the utility.
Energy providers across the state have been ordered by regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission to implement the discount programs as part of landmark climate legislation passed by state lawmakers in 2021.
ComEd savings “will be based on average use within a residential service delivery class and will vary by income tier,” officials said.
“This new program brings long term relief for those who can least afford to pay, and it will help them afford service as energy costs continue to rise,” ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said in a statement.
Electric bills have jumped about 15% in Illinois this year due largely to increased power demand for the data centers behind artificial intelligence operations.
The gas and electricity discounts are supposed to be calculated to ensure energy costs don’t exceed 6% of household income. Anything beyond that is considered a financial burden, under federal guidelines.
The discounts are subsidized by other ratepayers, but keeping the power on for less-resourced households helps rein in costs for everyone, according to Daniel Schneider of Legal Action Chicago, the agency that helped lock in the programs.
“Even if it’s a small impact at the end of the day, reducing people’s bills to an affordable level on the front end helps to ensure everyone’s bill doesn’t rise on the back end, because the cost of collection and carrying bad debt — those are costs that utilities eventually recover through rate increases,” he said.
Schneider estimated only about a third of people eligible for the discount programs are getting the help for which they qualify.
Some customers who are already receiving federal energy assistance will automatically be enrolled.
Residents can apply for energy discounts through their local administration agencies; for most in the Chicago area, that’s the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA).
Legal Action Chicago is hosting a series of informational sessions at Chicago Public Library branches, including:
- Dec. 8, 5 p.m. at Humboldt Park, 1605 N. Troy St.;
- Jan. 16, 6 p.m. at Kelly, 6151 S. Normal Blvd.; and
- Jan. 21, 12:30 p.m. at Austin, 6515 W. Race Ave.
More info is available at ComEd.com/LID, and CEDAorg.net/Sites.