ComEd Offers Energy Saving Information for Renters and Customers with Electric Space Heat During Frigid Winter Season

As Northern Illinois' frigid winter weather continues, ComEd has added to its CARE (Customers' Affordable Reliable Energy) Web site more energy-savings tips for electric space heat customers, whose electric usage dramatically increases during periods of extreme cold. ComEd also has added new energy-efficiency tips for renters.

"Everyone can take steps to reduce their energy use and lower their bills, no matter what type of home you have," said Anne Pramaggiore, senior vice president, ComEd regulatory and external affairs. "By providing customized energy-saving information and tips for electric space heaters and renters, we hope even more ComEd customers will embrace energy efficiency to save money and help protect our environment."

About 190,000 customers, or 6 percent of ComEd's residential customer base, use electricity as their primary source of heating for their home, rather than heating with natural gas. These electric space heat customers face a slightly higher annual average electric bill increase of roughly 28 percent over their past bills. During the winter months, these customers will see higher increases because the steep rate reduction they previously received for heating their homes with electricity is gradually being reduced. In the summer, these customers will experience a significantly lower increase.

Customers with electric space heat can particularly benefit from reducing their energy use during the winter heating season.

The http://www.ComEdCARE.com site, currently equipped with a variety of low- and no-cost tips and tools to help customers manage their energy usage, includes sections especially for electric space heat customers and renters. In fact, the ComEd Energy Doctor has responded to a number of questions from electric space heat customers, which are posted on the site.

ComEd CARE offers a number of energy-efficiency and low-income programs that can help customers reduce their bills as well as the residential rate stabilization plan, which allows residential customers the choice to pay for the rate increase over time. To access the new tips and more information on managing energy bills, customers can log on to http://www.ComEdCARE.com or call 888-806-CARE (2273).

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation , one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.2 million customers and more than $15 billion in annual revenues. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.7 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.