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Near north ComEd customers fight back

Palatine company offers rate to replace discount lost this month

25-Jun-12 – News that ComEd customers in all-electric buildings will be paying more for electricity starting this month has piqued interest in alternative suppliers. Since the 1960s, all-electric buildings got a special rate from ComEd because they were considered less expensive to heat.

That changed on June 1, when the Illinois Commerce Commission allowed the utility to start phasing out its “Residential Space Heat – Multiple” rate. That will leave a rate of $0.07131 per kilowatt-hour.

“I do guarantee that come the winter heating season,” predicts Hans Herrmann, president of Cost Containment International, “there will be some shrieks when people open their ComEd bill and see how much the rate change has affected their bills.”

The company, located in the northwest suburb of Palatine, has already helped residents of John Hancock Center, Lake Point Tower, and hundreds of other condominiums and businesses. Although common for commercial customers, electric alternatives for residents are relatively new. Until the rate changed this month, Herrmann had been recommending residents stay with ComEd “because no one could beat the rate.”

Hans Herrmann With numerous companies now offering electricity to residents, Herrmann (left) was able to put together a special rate for space heat customers. He says his rate of $0.0465 per kilowatt-hour is lower than any rate ComEd has charged in recent years.

When Cost Containment International was brought in by the Association of Sheridan Condo/Coop Owners, association president Sheli Lulkin says it resulted in a savings of $346 per year for her two-bedroom unit.

To find the best rate, Cost Containment International requests proposals from suppliers. The selected supplier then pays the company a fee and that fee is the same for all suppliers. Most of the company’s clients are businesses, but says Herrmann, “Residential space heat [customers] use a lot of electricity so we thought we could significantly impact what they pay.”

Herrmann explains that ComEd just delivers electricity. “They make no profit on the electricity and they don’t care who their customers buy it from.”

Residents may apply for the alternative rate if their building’s property manager belongs to a “cost containment aggregation group.” There is no signup or cancellation fee, and bills at the new rate are still sent by ComEd.