Commonwealth Edison wants to accelerate the timetable for installing smart meters that help customers better manage and reduce their energy consumption and costs.
The utility intends to file a request with the Illinois Commerce Commission, which directed ComEd to pursue a path to acceleration, to complete the installation of more than four million smart meters by 2018, ahead of the currently scheduled 2021. If approved, the accelerated program would begin in 2014, increasing the number of smart meters installed in 2014 from 160,000 to 500,000.
The accelerated deployment means that ComEd customers will realize more than $150 million in savings over what was envisioned with the current installation schedule.
Among the first group of ComEd customers to see increased deployment of smart meters will be residents on the south side of Chicago. Under ComEd’s proposal, customers on Chicago’s south side will have more than 260,000 smart meters installed in 2014 and the entire area completed in 2015 — about six months sooner than in the original plan.
The initiative will also support customers’ ability to take advantage of these new products and services by developing a process that makes it simple for customers to identify and find new products that will work with the ComEd smart meter system. The new meters also provide information that helps customers take advantage of market pricing to better manage their energy costs.
