Jun 7, 2007 7:26 pm US/Central
ComEd Customers Will Soon Feel Brunt Of Rate Hike
Air Conditioning Season Prompts Consumer Concerns
by Mike Flannery
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
With air conditioners humming along, ComEd said it expected demand for electricity to hit a peak not seen since last August.
As CBS 2's Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, ComEd customers are about to feel the brunt of the 24 percent rate increase.
Activists predicted that the start of air conditioning season might trigger a new round of consumer outrage. The reason: those who heat and cook with natural gas have not yet felt the full force of last winter's giant jump in the price of electricity. Consumers will now feel the effects of the rate hike, with their electric air conditioners roaring as temperatures start soaring.
"It's really going to be your June, July, August and into September electric bills that really show how large this rate increase is," Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board Dave Kolata said.
ComEd is paying for TV commercials that attempt to turn the tables on the General Assembly and critics of its amazingly profitable power business.
A megawatt ComEd now sells for $64 actually costs only $18 for its parent company to produce. This helps to explain why, in the first quarter, ComEd enjoyed a record-breaking 73 percent increase in net income compared to last year, also a record-breaking year for profits.
"Rates have gone up tremendously," said Mayor Richard Daley. "There has to be some working relationship through the budget, first and foremost, and, of course, utilities."
At the State Capitol, negotiations are continuing on voluntary rate relief with no legal or legislative action.
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