Customers who need financial assistance can take advantage of several programs

CHICAGO (Nov. 10, 2020) – While we've enjoyed mild weather recently, cold temperatures will be returning to northern Illinois this week. ComEd has been hard at work on the energy grid completing hundreds of projects to ensure it is ready to reliably meet the energy needs of customers.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ComEd employees have focused on improving the resiliency of the power grid and delivering reliable energy to ComEd's more than 4 million customers. Advanced technology installed as part of ComEd's smart grid work and upgrades to our infrastructure have led to fewer outages and record breaking reliability since 2012 and has helped prevent almost 14 million customer interruptions, including avoiding 700,000 interruptions during the powerful and destructive August derecho.

"Our focus is to provide reliable energy all year-round, but especially during the winter, which brings some of the most unpredictable and extreme weather," said Terry Donnelly, ComEd president and COO. "At the same time, we know that some of our customers are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic. That's why we created a comprehensive customer assistance package that provides a variety of bill payment and financial assistance options to help customers most in need." 

As customers face hardship from COVID-19, ComEd is continuing the suspension of service disconnections for low-income customers and those who express a financial hardship through March 31, 2021. For other customers, it's important that they continue to stay current to avoid higher past-due balances into the spring that will be harder to address.

ComEd also offers a number of bill-assistance programs, including flexible payment options, financial assistance for past-due balances and usage alerts for current bills. Any customer who is experiencing a hardship or difficulty with their electric bill should call ComEd immediately at 1-800-334-7661 (1-800-EDISON-1), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to learn more and enroll in a program.

Customers in need of financial assistance can visit the nearest CEDA (Cook County) or LIHEAP (outside of Cook County) agency to apply for assistance. For a list of social service agencies accepting applications, call CEDA at 800-571-2332 or LIHEAP at 877-411-9276, or visit ComEd.com.

ComEd also offers no- and low-cost tips to help customers reduce their energy costs:

• Lower manual or programmable thermostats 7 degrees to 10 degrees during the winter when leaving the home for eight or more hours to save up to 10 percent of heating costs.
• At a minimum, change filters every 3 months. If the filter looks dirty, change it sooner. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder, which wastes energy.
• Replace conventional incandescent holiday lights with LEDs (lighting emitting diodes). LED holiday lights typically consume at least 75 percent less energy.
• Get a free home energy assessment, receive rebates on qualifying ENERGY STAR® appliances and smart thermostats, and save instantly with in-store discounts on LED bulbs.
  
  The ComEd Energy Efficiency Program has empowered customers to save more than $5 billion since 2008. For more information on ways customers can save money and energy, visit ComEd.com/WaysToSave.