Wednesday, June 4, 2008

ComEd could seek $3 monthly surcharge, aldermen told

Clout St:

ComEd customers might be asked to pay a permanent $3 monthly surcharge so the company can augment its electricity delivery system with the latest technology, the utility’s leader said Tuesday at a Chicago City Council committee meeting.

The upgrades, a combination of new digital technologies called “smart grid,” would allow ComEd to know when an outage occurs without a call from an affected customer, said ComEd president and chief operating officer J. Barry Mitchell. It also would allow remote switching of circuits that now can only be flipped manually.

“The initial phase of smart grid would incorporate technology proven to lead to fewer and shorter outages and strengthen the system infrastructure,” Mitchell said. “Our vision for smart grid would provide customers with real-time data to make better-informed choices about their electricity use with advanced meters and automated self-healing distribution equipment to drastically reduce outage duration.”

Wasn't there movement to freeze electric rates at one point? Now consumers are getting hit with another fee!

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