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Does Ameren or ComEd Pay for Spoiled Food After a Power Outage? What Illinois Law Actually Covers

Ryan Cook•October 10, 2026

Usually, no. Illinois law makes Ameren Illinois and ComEd pay for spoiled food and other actual damages only when a single outage knocks out a big share of their customers for 4 hours or more. For ComEd that means more than 30,000 customers; for Ameren, more than roughly 9,900. Even then, the utility can ask the Illinois Commerce Commission to excuse it if the outage came from unpreventable weather. The average Illinois outage in 2024 ended in a little over three hours, so most freezers full of thawed meat go unpaid.

That's the honest answer. The more useful one is when a claim is worth filing, how to file it with each utility, and what actually protects your food the next time the lights go out.

The law, in one table

All of this comes from one section of the Illinois Public Utilities Act, 220 ILCS 5/16-125, and the two utilities' own claim forms.

Rule	What it says	Source
Outage trigger	More than 30,000 customers or 0.8% of the utility's customers, whichever is less, out continuously for 4 hours or more	16-125(e)
Ameren Illinois threshold	0.8% of customers, "approximately 9,900"	Ameren Illinois claims page, accessed Oct. 10, 2026
ComEd threshold	More than 30,000 customers	ComEd claim form
What's paid for an outage	"All actual damages," not consequential damages	16-125(e), (h)
Power surge trigger and payment	Same customer threshold; "replacement value of all goods damaged"	16-125(f)
Ways out for the utility	Unpreventable weather, customer tampering, civil unrest or animals, damage by an outside party	16-125(e)(1)–(4), (f)(1)–(4)
Who pays the award	Not ratepayers: "Damage awards may not be paid out of utility rate funds"	16-125(h)
Where disputes go	The Illinois Commerce Commission, under Section 10-109	16-125(h)
Average outage length, 2024	Ameren Illinois 191 minutes, ComEd 206 minutes	ICC annual report, Jan. 21, 2026

Why most outages don't qualify

Two things have to happen at once. The outage has to be big, with tens of thousands of ComEd customers or about ten thousand Ameren customers out together. And it has to last 4 hours or longer without a break.

The everyday outage fails both tests. A transformer blows on your block in Naperville, or a squirrel takes out a line feeding a few hundred homes outside Champaign. That's a few hundred customers for a couple of hours. ComEd's claim form is blunt about it. Damage from "storms, wind, ice, accidents beyond our control, vandalism, tree or wildlife contact, equipment failure, scheduled outages or normal operating procedures will not be reimbursed except possibly under Section 16-125(e) and (f)."

The duration test is tougher than it sounds. According to the Illinois Commerce Commission's annual report, once an outage started in 2024, the average one lasted 191 minutes on Ameren Illinois and 206 minutes on ComEd. Both are under the 4-hour line. Averages hide bad nights, of course. Ameren's 2023 average was 428 minutes, and anyone who sat through a central Illinois ice storm knows what a multi-day outage feels like. But the typical outage ends before the law's clock matters.

My take: the law was written for the disasters, not for the ordinary bad evening. If you plan around the payment, you'll be disappointed most of the time.

Storms aren't an automatic "no"

The weather exception is the one people misread. The statute doesn't excuse every outage that happens during a storm. It lets the utility ask for a waiver when the outage came from "unpreventable damage due to weather events or conditions."

Unpreventable is doing a lot of work there. ComEd learned that after the summer of 2011. In a June 5, 2013 order, the ICC granted ComEd waivers for most of that summer's storms but not for the one on July 11, 2011, and in 2014 an Illinois appellate court affirmed it. There's a detail in the statute that made that matter. Customers covered by a waiver don't count toward the threshold. Take out everyone the storm itself excused, and the remaining group still had to top 30,000. It did, barely: the final count was 34,559 customers whose outages weren't covered by a waiver, about 25,600 of them from tree contact. The Commission's view, which the court upheld, was that ComEd could and should have trimmed those trees.

The lesson for you: if a big storm hits and restoration on your street drags on long after your neighbors' power is back, file the claim. Let the utility make its case for a waiver. It has 30 days after a claim is filed with the Commission to ask for one, and it isn't liable while that request is pending.

How to file with Ameren Illinois

Ameren Illinois uses an outside administrator for these claims. You fill out the Section 16-125 claim form and mail it, with your paperwork, to:

Brentwood Services Administrators, Inc., PO Box 4605, Chesterfield, MO 63006-4605

The form asks what happened and when, whether you called Ameren about the problem and who you spoke with, and whether you've also filed with your insurance company. Ameren says typical claims are resolved within 90 days after it gets a complete form with proof of damage. General questions go to 1-800-755-5000, and questions about a claim you've filed go to Brentwood at 1-800-781-2075. If you don't accept the proposed resolution, the form points you to the ICC's Consumer Services Division at 1-800-524-0795.

How to file with ComEd

ComEd handles its own claims. Mail the form to Commonwealth Edison Company, Claims Department, P.O. Box 5520, Villa Park, IL 60181-4906. The phone number listed on the form is 1-800-334-7661. ComEd says its investigation may include field inspections. If you turn down its proposed resolution, you can take a complaint to the Illinois Commerce Commission.

What to save before you throw anything out

Both utilities ask for nearly the same proof, and neither form lists a filing deadline. Don't let that slow you down. Receipts and memory fade fast.

Food spoilage: an itemized list of every spoiled item with its price and a total. Add receipts or canceled checks if you have them. Ameren also asks for photos, and I'd take them either way.
Damaged equipment: repair bills, or a written estimate if you don't fix it. If it can't be repaired, include proof it's a total loss.
Proof of cause: ComEd's form asks for something showing the damage came from the outage or surge, and it's worth having for Ameren too. Note the date and time the power went out and came back.
Keep the broken stuff. Both forms say not to dispose of damaged items, spoiled food excepted, until the utility authorizes it.

Check your homeowners or renters policy too. Ameren's form asks about insurance for a reason, and some policies cover food loss. I covered how home policies treat solar equipment in my homeowners insurance post.

What actually keeps your food cold

Solar panels by themselves won't do it. The U.S. Department of Energy says grid-tied systems are "designed to switch off if the grid power cuts out," so the panels on your roof go quiet in the same outage as everyone else. What keeps a refrigerator, freezer, furnace fan and a few lights running is a battery that can disconnect your home from the grid and run on its own.

Here's where the statute and the outage numbers point the same way. The outages Illinois actually gets, about three hours on average, are the ones the law doesn't pay for, and they're just what one home battery handles well. I walked through the sizing in how big a battery you need to run your house. If you're on a rural Ameren line where outages run for days, read generator vs. home battery first, because a generator may be the better fit. For whether outages are getting more common, my rolling blackouts post has the grid-level picture.

If you're behind on a bill rather than waiting out a storm, that's a different set of rules. The Illinois shut-off rules post explains when Ameren and ComEd can and can't disconnect you.

Want backup that doesn't depend on a claim form?

A battery can be part of a solar lease or a purchase, and what it costs depends on what you need to keep running. Run your bill through the savings calculator, or call me at (618) 217-2001. Tell me what you lost in your last outage and how long it lasted, and I'll tell you honestly whether a battery makes sense for your house. You can also reach me through the contact page.

Sources

220 ILCS 5/16-125, Transmission and distribution reliability requirements — Illinois Compiled Statutes, Public Utilities Act (subsections (e) outage damages, (f) surge replacement value, (g) 24-hour maintenance notice, (h) ICC remedies, waiver timing and rate funds)
Ameren Illinois, Filing a Claim — Ameren Illinois outage center, accessed Oct. 10, 2026 (0.8% ≈ 9,900 customers; Brentwood Services address; 90-day typical resolution; 1-800-755-5000 and 1-800-781-2075)
Ameren Illinois Section 16-125 Claim Form — Ameren Illinois, accessed Oct. 10, 2026 (documentation requirements; ICC Consumer Services 1-800-524-0795)
ComEd Claim Form — Commonwealth Edison Company Claims Department, accessed Oct. 10, 2026 (30,000-customer threshold; exclusions; documentation; P.O. Box 5520, Villa Park)
ICC 2025 Annual Report on Electricity, Gas, Water and Sewer Utilities — Illinois Commerce Commission, Jan. 21, 2026 (CAIDI 2024: Ameren Illinois 191 minutes, ComEd 206 minutes; Ameren 2023: 428 minutes)
Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Illinois Commerce Comm'n, 2014 IL App (1st) 132011 — Illinois Appellate Court, First District, 2014 (affirms ICC Docket 11-0588 order of June 5, 2013; 34,559 customers not covered by a waiver, about 25,600 from tree contact)
Solar and Resilience Basics — U.S. Department of Energy (grid-tied systems "designed to switch off if the grid power cuts out")

Frequently Asked Questions

Sometimes, but only after a large outage. Under Section 16-125(e) of the Illinois Public Utilities Act, ComEd owes customers their actual damages, food spoilage included, when more than 30,000 customers lose power continuously for 4 hours or more. ComEd can ask the Illinois Commerce Commission to waive that duty if it shows the outage came from unpreventable weather, customer tampering, civil unrest or animals, or damage by someone outside ComEd. Outside that law, ComEd's own claim form says damage from storms, wind, ice, tree or wildlife contact, equipment failure and scheduled outages will not be reimbursed. In practice, the outage on just your street usually isn't covered. If you think your outage qualifies, mail the form to the ComEd Claims Department, P.O. Box 5520, Villa Park, IL 60181-4906. Include an itemized list of spoiled food with the price of each item, plus any receipts.

Fill out Ameren Illinois' Section 16-125 claim form and mail it, with your documentation, to Brentwood Services Administrators, Inc., PO Box 4605, Chesterfield, MO 63006-4605. Brentwood handles the claims for Ameren. For food spoilage, the form asks for an itemized list of spoiled items with the price of each and a total, plus receipts, canceled checks and photos if you have them. It also asks whether you called Ameren about the problem and whether you filed with your insurance company. Keep any damaged equipment until Ameren says you can throw it out. Spoiled food is the one exception. Ameren says typical claims are resolved within 90 days after it receives a complete form with proof of damage. For general questions about the process, call 1-800-755-5000. For a claim you've already filed, call Brentwood at 1-800-781-2075.

Usually not, but weather isn't an automatic out. Section 16-125 lets the utility ask the Illinois Commerce Commission for a waiver when an outage came from "unpreventable damage due to weather events or conditions." The word that matters is unpreventable. The utility has to show it, and customers covered by a waiver don't count toward the 30,000-customer or 0.8% threshold. After a July 11, 2011 storm, the ICC refused ComEd a full waiver, and an Illinois appellate court affirmed that in 2014. The count of customers whose outages weren't covered by a waiver was 34,559. That was still above the 30,000 trigger, so those customers could claim damages. A storm knocking out power doesn't decide the case by itself. Whether the long outage after it could have been avoided with better maintenance or response can. If an outage was big and long but the restoration seemed slow, file the claim anyway. If you don't accept the utility's answer, you can bring it to the ICC.

Possibly, if the surge was big enough. Section 16-125(f) says when a power surge or other fluctuation damages goods and affects more than 30,000 customers or 0.8% of the utility's customers, whichever is less, the utility pays the replacement value of the damaged goods. The same four exceptions apply: unpreventable weather, customer tampering, civil unrest or animals, and damage by someone outside the utility. For Ameren Illinois, 0.8% is roughly 9,900 customers, so its trigger is lower than ComEd's 30,000. For a damaged TV, furnace board or refrigerator, both companies' forms ask for repair bills or a written repair estimate, or proof the item is a total loss. ComEd's form also asks for proof the damage came from the surge. Don't throw the item away, because the utility may want to inspect it. Ameren's form also asks whether you've filed a claim with your insurance company, so check your policy too.

Not by themselves. A standard grid-tied solar system shuts off when the grid goes down. The U.S. Department of Energy describes these systems as designed to switch off if the grid power cuts out, for safety reasons. That surprises a lot of Illinois homeowners, and it's the most common outage question I get. Keeping a refrigerator, freezer, furnace fan and lights on takes a battery that can island your home from the grid, with or without solar. In Illinois, the average outage in 2024 lasted about 191 minutes on Ameren and 206 minutes on ComEd, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission. That's shorter than the 4 hours that trigger utility payments, and well within what a single home battery can usually cover for the must-run circuits. A battery can be part of a solar lease or a purchase. The right size depends on what you need to keep running.