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Over $803 Million Rebates Coming To ComEd Customers
In a press release ComEd announced that “over $803 million will be returned to customers under the framework established in Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) enacted in 2021, which requires nuclear plants to pay customers when prices are high. ComEd residential and commercial customers can expect to benefit from these funds in the form of bill credits, with the average residential customer expected to receive approximately $13 a month, depending on usage, over the first five months of the year.”
Commercial customers will also receive bill credits.
“The funds are being returned as part of the CEJA’s Carbon Mitigation Credit (CMC) program that provided price support to select Illinois nuclear units that were scheduled to be closed. Importantly, that statute protected ComEd customers from over-paying in the event that federal policymakers also stepped up to support nuclear generation.”
“The 2021 CEJA law created the CMC program to support carbon-free nuclear generation facilities and in return, provide an adjustment to ComEd customers if energy prices exceed the agreed-upon price determined in CEJA. The CMC program is in effect for five years, through 2027, and can result in a credit or a charge depending on energy prices.”
“The savings from the $803 million in credits reported on the nuclear generators’ tax returns will automatically reduce what customers pay, and no action is required by customers to receive the credit.”
“While future prices cannot be forecast with certainty, the CMC program is expected to continue providing credits, based on market prices, for at least another year, helping to offset supply cost increases and support families during periods of economic uncertainty.”
As background, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA),see Public Act 102-0662, was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Pritzker on September 15, 2021. CEJA includes provisions to phase out carbon emissions from the energy and transportation sectors. The Illinois EPA is directed in CEJA to establish rebate and grant programs for electric vehicles and charging stations and oversee the phase-out of fossil fuel-fired electrical generation units.
