ComEd to raise electric bills in June

You can expect to pay more for electricity starting in June.

About 3.4 million residential customers of ComEd will pay 2.5 percent more, or about $2 more a month based on a $75 monthly bill.

Around 300,000 business customers will pay 3 percent to 5 percent more.

ComEd said Wednesday some contracts from electricity providers are expiring. So the utility had to buy about 20 percent of its load during this interim period before the state of Illinois starts a new agency to oversee the purchase of power.

Chicago-based Citizens Utility Board, a consumer watchdog group, said it will be analyzing the ComEd numbers, spokesman Jim Chilsen said.

"Make no mistake, Illinois is still feeling the damaging legacy of ComEd's now-abolished reverse-auction process," Chilsen said. "We look forward to getting through this transitional procurement process -- how ComEd will buy a portion of its power in the year before the Illinois Power Agency opens its doors -- so we can begin to build a much healthier process for buying power."

Last August, the General Assembly passed and the governor signed Senate Bill 1592, which created a method for utilities ComEd and Ameren to purchase power, which they in turn deliver to their customers. It also created the Illinois Power Agency to purchase power on behalf of residential and small commercial customers beginning in 2009.

In the interim, the law directed the utilities to develop power purchasing plans that would be approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, commission spokesman Brian Sterling said.

ComEd's plan to buy power from a variety of sources, including its sister company Exelon Generation, was approved by the commission.

The commission has warned bills could go even higher if ComEd needs to purchase more power this summer if it's unusually hot and air conditioners run longer.

The cost of electricity itself represents about two-thirds of the average residential customer bill, ComEd spokeswoman Judy Rader said. "The remaining one-third of the bill is ComEd's costs to deliver the electricity."

While buying this load of power didn't need a lengthy approval process, any request to increase the delivery cost portion of the bill requires up to 11 months at the commission. Last year, ComEd asked the commission for a delivery rate hike to generate an additional $361 million to upgrade and maintain its growing network. The Citizens Utility Board argued ComEd understated its income and overstated its expenses to justify the proposed hike.

The commission is expected to decide on that proposal in September.