ComEd & Ameren Want Another Rate Hike — CUB Found $1 Billion in Questionable Spending
Your electric bill jumped on June 1. Both utilities are already lining up the next increase.
ComEd filed a $15.3 billion four-year grid plan in January — a 21% spending increase over its current plan. Ameren Illinois filed its own four-year plan for central and southern Illinois. And last week, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) told state regulators it found more than $1 billion of questionable spending in ComEd's request, plus hundreds of millions more in Ameren's.
I've been selling solar in Illinois for five years, and I've watched this cycle repeat: supply prices spike, everyone talks about it for a month, and meanwhile the quieter delivery-rate cases grind through the Illinois Commerce Commission and lock in increases for years. This is one of those quiet ones. Here's what's actually on the table.
The $930 Million Year
CUB tallied up every pending rate-hike request from Illinois' biggest utilities and hit $930 million in 2026 alone. For ComEd and Ameren electric customers, it breaks down into two waves:
Wave 1 — the "reconciliation" hikes (2026 cases). ComEd wants an extra $234 million and Ameren an extra $65 million in delivery charges — $299 million combined. Reconciliation cases true-up what the utilities say they actually spent versus what regulators approved. The ICC typically rules on these near year-end.
Wave 2 — the four-year grid plans (2028 and beyond). The ICC already approved rate plans for both utilities through 2027. The new filings set delivery rates for the next four-year cycle. ComEd's ask is $15.3 billion. That's the one where CUB's experts found over $1 billion they call questionable, and hundreds of millions more in Ameren's plan.
Here's the whole picture in one table:
| What's pending | ComEd | Ameren IL | Who decides, and when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 "reconciliation" delivery hike | $234M | $65M | ICC ruling expected near year-end 2026 |
| Four-year grid plan (sets 2028+ delivery rates) | $15.3B ask | Multi-billion 4-yr plan | ICC ruling after hearings |
| Spending CUB calls questionable | $1B+ | ~$300M | CUB testimony filed 6/29 — ICC weighs it |
One more number from CUB worth sitting with: the parent companies of these utilities took in about $15 billion in profits in 2025.
Why This Stings More Than a Normal Rate Case
Because it stacks on top of a summer that already hurt.
On June 1, ComEd's Price to Compare reset to 10.399¢/kWh and Ameren's summer rate hit 11.326¢/kWh — driven by record capacity auctions and data center demand. We broke that down in our June rate-spike post. All-in, a typical household is paying an estimated 17¢/kWh in ComEd territory and 20¢/kWh in Ameren territory this summer.
That June spike was the supply side of your bill. These new cases target the delivery side — the charges you pay no matter who supplies your electricity. Supply prices can ease when auctions cool off. Delivery increases, once approved, are baked in for years.
My take: the delivery cases are where Illinois households lose ground slowly and permanently. Nobody notices a reconciliation docket. Everybody notices five years later that their "cheap" winter rate isn't cheap anymore. ComEd's average residential rate is up roughly 90% over five years; Ameren's is up about 94%. The trajectory didn't happen by accident — it happened one approved case at a time.
What Happens Next
The ICC will take CUB's testimony, the utilities' rebuttals, and months of hearings before ruling. Two things are worth knowing:
- The commission has cut these before. The last round of grid plans got trimmed substantially after pushback from CUB and the Illinois attorney general. The $15.3 billion number is an opening bid, not a done deal.
- You can weigh in. CUB is collecting signatures on petitions to the ICC — one for ComEd customers and one for Ameren customers. It costs nothing and the ICC does read public comments.
Realistically, though, some increase is coming. The grid genuinely needs investment, data center load keeps growing, and neither utility has ever filed a plan to charge less.
The Part of Your Bill You Actually Control
You can't vote down a rate case by yourself, and you can't opt out of delivery charges. What you can control is how many kilowatt-hours you buy through the grid in the first place.
That's the whole argument for rooftop solar in Illinois right now — not ideology, just arithmetic. Power from your own roof is power you don't buy at 17–20¢. Three paths, depending on your situation:
- $0-down lease — a fixed rate as low as $0.10/kWh for 15 years, battery included. Every rate case the ICC approves widens the gap between that number and the utility's.
- Cash purchase — pairs with Illinois SREC payments, with payback typically estimated around 8–10 years and low-cost power for decades after.
- Illinois Solar for All — income-qualified households may qualify for solar at no cost through the state program.
All of it starts with your actual roof and your actual usage — every savings figure is an estimate until we look at both. Run your address through our free savings calculator, check the year-by-year history on our ComEd and Ameren rate pages, or just call me at (618) 217-2001. You can also reach us through the contact page — Ryan or a member of the team will reach out ASAP with a call.
The utilities have their four-year plan. It's worth having one of your own.
