CUB Alerts ComEd Customers About Summer Power Prices
Contact:
Jim Chilsen, [email protected], (312) 513-1784
CHICAGO, June 7, 2017—The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) on Wednesday alerted Northern Illinois consumers about an increase in Commonwealth Edison’s summer electricity price.
As of June, ComEd’s “price to compare”—the rate customers compare to alternative supplier offers—increased about 9 percent.
New ComEd Supply Rates
June – September 2017:
6.892 cents kilowatt-hour (kWh)*
October 2017-May 2018:
7.151 cents kilowatt-hour (kWh)*
*Note: The rates include ComEd’s supply price, plus a transmission services charge.
Despite the increase, CUB said it is likely that ComEd is a customer’s best bet in the current market. The consumer group created a special summer information center, at CUBHelpCenter.com, filled with money-saving energy efficiency tips as well as information on how customers can avoid bad electric deals.
“Door-to-door electricity marketers will be out this summer, and we want people to have the information they need to make the best choice for their home,” CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said. “We also want to show how energy efficiency is the best way to cut power bills. The cheapest electricity is the electricity you never use.”
Shoppers evaluating an alternative supplier offer should 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.
CUB is Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog group. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more details, call CUB’s Consumer Hotline at 1-800-669-5556 or visit CUB’s award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.
