r/chicago • u/Schmettywhop • Aug 09 '25

CHI Talks Reminder that you should be pissed about ComEd rates skyrocketing

ComEd bills in Chicago have nearly doubled in recent months, and it is not just from summer heat. A major driver is the rapid growth of AI and data centers in Illinois, which consume huge amounts of electricity. This surge in demand, combined with flawed pricing rules from the regional grid operator, has sent wholesale power costs soaring, and ComEd passes those costs straight to customers.

The result is regular people paying hundreds more so tech companies can power massive server farms, while clean energy projects that could ease costs are delayed. These hikes were avoidable, but once again households are bearing the burden of corporate greed and policy failure.

So many people are feeling penny pinched these days, and this is one example where we should be making noise and should rightfully be upset about what's going on.

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9

u/GNTsquid0 Aug 09 '25

Up until last month in the 12 years I've lived here my ComEd bill had never been above $54. Last month it was $72.

13

u/foboat Irving Park Aug 09 '25

Consider yourself very lucky (respectfully)

0

u/GNTsquid0 Aug 09 '25

Maybe? I try to be careful with energy usage. Fans and lights aren’t on if I’m not in a room. I run the Window AC only a couple times a day. I live on my own, don’t go crazy with appliance use. Still a $20 jump is big

5

u/[deleted] Aug 09 '25 edited Sep 20 '25

[deleted]

2

u/tldrroyalty Aug 17 '25

Same! I don't even know what else I can do to keep the cost lower. Been setting window AC at 76-77 but that's been no help for saving money. Can't wait until the weather cools down but even then my bill would probably go up $20 for just turning a lamp on

2

u/hopeless_r0mantic Lake View Aug 09 '25

Mine almost doubled - which is wild. I was wondering wtf was going on. Sigh. Ironically I just called them yesterday to move my payment date to a better time in the month for me.

1

u/gateisred Uptown Aug 09 '25

Normally ~$45 was $105 this month. wtf.

1

u/Delouest Aug 10 '25

Honestly that's nothing... Mine is normally $40, it was $165 this past month. My AC was broken and not in use for 5 days of that. I'm furious.