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Commonwealth Edison customers have been warned of a significant rate increase this summer, for which energy industry companies are passing the buck.
Chicago-based energy watchdog organization Citizens Utility Board issued the warning to ComEd customers on May 19, predicting bills will increase by $100 over the next year beginning June 1.
During a virtual news conference Monday, CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said the average customer would pay about $10 more per month or about $100 more per year. The 10-cent-per-kilowatt-hour increase would mean a 45% higher rate than last June.
During the conference, CUB was quick to point blame towards grid operator PJM Interconnection, provoking PJM to respond with their own statement.
PJM is the nation’s largest grid operator, servicing 13 states from the Midwest to the East Coast. Grid operators are responsible managing the flow of energy and ensuring a continuous balance between supply and demand to maintain stability.
In the statement PJM refuted CUB’s claims and accused the group of “knowingly propagating a fallacy” to push blame.
In the warning, CUB claimed that while it was the big energy providers who stand to profit from the hike, grid operator PJM was to blame due to poor management, planning and policy decisions.
According to a statement from PJM, procuring power is getting more expensive due to decreasing supply and increasing demand, not just at PJM, but all over the country.
PJM blamed the decrease in supply on state and federal decarbonization policies, and attributed the increase in demand to the rise of data centers, the race for AI advancement and the on-shoring of U.S. manufacturing.
According to the PJM, existing supply is being pushed off of the system before replacement resources are in operation, thus creating a spike in pricing. PJM added that this trend could compromise grid reliability long term, resulting in possible service interruption for families and businesses.
“The record will reflect that PJM has been warning of this impending supply/demand imbalance for years now, even prior to the AI race,” according to a news release. “In order to shift blame for these price spikes, PJM is being accused of an unwillingness or inability to connect new renewable resources to the grid…Organizations ‘informing’ politicians about this issue are knowingly propagating a fallacy, producing studies funded by unknown entities with outlandish assumptions and conclusions to push blame to our organization.”
Grid operators also are responsible for managing the interconnection queue, which is essentially a waitlist for new power plants to access the grid and begin serving customers.
PJM also refuted CUB’s claims that the grid operator has caused delays in the interconnection queue, stating that they have processed hundreds of projects through the queue. According to PJM, challenges like supply chain issues, state permitting and financing are what have been hindering new resources from connecting to the grid.
“Shifting blame to a profit neutral grid operator who cares deeply about its mission to keep the lights on is one way to approach this issue. But consumers deserve better. At PJM, we will continue to do everything in our power to work with all our states, including Illinois, to help address what has become a national issue to keep the lights on and to try and do it cost-effectively for families and businesses,” according to the statement.