Smart grid and system improvements help to reduce outages by nearly
50 percent and produce $1.5 billion in societal savings
For the last five years, ComEd, a unit of Exelon, has worked on
upgrading and modernizing its electrical grid to improve the reliability
of its service to customers. The work has resulted in record-setting
performance. In 2017, ComEd customers experienced a 10 percent reduction
in the frequency of outages compared to 2016. Since investments began in
2012, frequency of outages has been reduced by nearly 46 percent and the
duration of outages has decreased by 47 percent.
From 2012 through 2017, there have been more than 7.7 million avoided
customer interruptions, including 1.5 million in 2017 due to additional
investments in distribution automation or digital “smart switches” that
automatically reroute power around potential problem areas. These 7.7
million avoided outages have resulted in $1.5 billion in societal
savings.
“Our work to modernize the grid continues to deliver sustainable
benefits for our customers and the state’s economy, as promised,” said
Anne Pramaggiore, president and CEO of ComEd. “We are building off the
foundation of this work to move Illinois toward a clean, lean and
ultra-resilient energy future giving our customers greater access to
renewables, more energy efficiency programs and control over their
energy costs, while also helping to create jobs within our communities.”
In 2016, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Future Energy Jobs
Act, which pivots Illinois to the new clean energy economy, saving and
creating thousands of clean energy jobs and providing job training for
the future workforce, while also creating significant consumer and
environmental benefits. This comprehensive, bipartisan legislation
jumpstarts renewables in Illinois, setting the stage to grow enough
solar and wind energy to power one million homes. It also significantly
increases energy efficiency programs, creating more than $4 billion in
consumer savings and reducing the CO2 equivalent to removing 18 million
cars from the road. Further, FEJA contains significant programs for
low-income communities and extends ComEd’s customer assistance programs
through 2021.
“As a result of smart grid and other system improvements, ComEd
customers are experiencing another year of record reliability - with
fewer and shorter outages and better service. We look forward to
continuing to deliver on the value of smart grid for our customers and
helping them and our state reap the benefits,” said Terence R, Donnelly,
ComEd executive vice-president and chief operating officer.
Strong power reliability and Illinois’ competitive electricity supply
market are key attributes why businesses continue to commit to building
facilities in our northern Illinois service territory. This is evidenced
in the recognition in Site Selection magazine naming ComEd to its annual
list of Top 10 Utilities in Economic Development for 2017.
“ComEd’s sustained reliability performance is helping set Illinois apart
from other states, regions, and international locations we compete daily
with for new business investment,” said Mark Peterson, President and CEO
of Intersect Illinois, a privately funded economic development
organization. “We are thrilled to see record setting energy industry
reliability performance which provides businesses the assurance that
Illinois is the right place for their continued growth.”
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon
Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy
provider, with approximately 10 million customers. ComEd provides
service to approximately 4 million customers across northern Illinois,
or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information
visit ComEd.com,
and connect with the company on Facebook,
Twitter
and YouTube.
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