ComEd has launched its smart meter-enabled program called Peak Time Savings, which saves customers money by applying a credit to their bill for reducing electricity usage during high demand periods. ComEd is the first utility in the Midwest to offer this program to customers, and enrollment is now open for residential ComEd customers whose homes have been fitted with a smart meter.
“The Peak Time Savings program is another way our smart meter technology is bringing value to our customers,” said Val Jensen, senior vice president of Customer Operations, ComEd. “Smart meters are at the heart of what we believe will become the electricity network of the future and we will continue to use smart grid technology as a platform to explore innovative solutions to provide customers with reliable electric service and more options on managing their electricity use and costs.”
How can customers participate in Peak Time Savings?
During the summer of 2015, ComEd will announce Peak Time Savings Hours on days when electricity is most in demand. Peak Time Savings Hours will typically occur for a few hours between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on three to five days during the summer.
Customers can voluntarily reduce their electricity use during Peak Time Savings Hours by managing electricity use, such as doing laundry during off-peak times, turning up the A/C a few degrees, or turning off lights when leaving a room. Customers can earn a $1 credit on their electric bill for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity reduced during Peak Time Savings Hours. These credits will appear on their electric bill as actual dollars off the total amount due. This program can help customers save energy and money, while also benefiting the environment by lessening the impact of energy use during high-demand periods.
Peak Time Savings is part of ComEd’s SmartGridExchangeSM initiative, a long-term collaborative effort between ComEd, technology companies, universities and customers to spur innovation that will shape what the electric grid of the future will offer customers.
Under its Smart Grid plan, ComEd will install more than four million smart meters throughout its service area by the end of 2018. Currently more than 400,000 smart meters have been installed in homes in the Chicago area, giving those ComEd customers the opportunity to participate in this innovative program.
ComEd’s Peak Time Savings program is available to customers who have ComEd as their energy delivery provider, who are not currently participating in Smart Ideas Central AC Cycling and are not on a Net Metering program with ComEd or other electric supplier.
