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Why ComEd Bills Go Up in November 2026: The New 3.758¢ Charge
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Why ComEd Bills Go Up in November 2026: The New 3.758¢ Charge

Ryan Cook•

ComEd's November bill has a new charge on it. For the November 2026 billing period, the Purchased Electricity Adjustment is a charge of 3.758¢ per kWh, after a credit of 1.551¢ in October, according to the informational sheet ComEd filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission on October 19, 2026. If ComEd supplies your power, that's about $22 more on a 750 kWh bill than October once a bigger nuclear credit is counted, before taxes. If you buy from a supplier at a set price, you skip the charge and your bill should actually come down a bit.

I expect this bill to generate phone calls. ComEd's posted price didn't change. It's still 10.103¢ per kWh, the price to compare posted for October 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027 (Plug In Illinois notes the transmission piece inside it changes again in January 2027). Two lines underneath that price moved, and they moved in opposite directions.

The November 2026 numbers

Line on a ComEd bill October 2026 November 2026 Who pays it
Price to compare (supply + transmission) 10.103¢/kWh 10.103¢/kWh ComEd supply customers (posted for Oct 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027)
Purchased Electricity Adjustment −1.551¢ (credit) +3.758¢ (charge) ComEd fixed-price supply customers
Hourly pricing adjustment (HPEA) −2.296¢ (credit) +1.193¢ (charge) ComEd hourly pricing customers
Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adj −0.115¢ (credit) −2.503¢ (credit) All ComEd customers
ComEd supply side, net of both lines about 8.44¢ about 11.36¢ ComEd fixed-price supply customers
Same net figure, November 2025 about 7.12¢ For comparison

The November figures come from ComEd's 215th Revised Informational Sheet No. 3 and 50th Revised Informational Sheet No. 36.1, both filed October 19 and effective October 20, 2026. The October and November 2025 figures come from the Commission's historical price table and ComEd's November 2025 sheet.

What the Purchased Electricity Adjustment actually is

ComEd buys electricity in advance for everyone on its default supply, and the price to compare is set ahead of time. Real costs never match that price perfectly. ComEd's tariff describes the adjustment as a credit or charge that "periodically equalizes" what those customers paid with what ComEd spent, so the utility doesn't over- or under-collect.

In plain terms, it's a settle-up. When ComEd collected more than it spent, you get a credit, like October's. When it spent more than it collected, you get a charge. ComEd's filing doesn't say what drove November's number, and I won't guess.

What I can tell you is how unusual it is. The Commerce Commission's table of ComEd adjustments runs back to January 2017. Only one month carried a bigger charge than November 2026: May 2026, at 8.166¢. Last November it was a 1.721¢ credit.

What it does to a real bill

Here's the energy side only, for a household on ComEd's own supply, compared with October. Delivery charges don't change with either line, so I've left them out.

Monthly use Adjustment swing Bigger nuclear credit Net change vs. October
500 kWh about +$27 about −$12 about +$15
750 kWh about +$40 about −$18 about +$22
1,000 kWh about +$53 about −$24 about +$29

Against last November it's bigger. The net supply side was about 7.12¢ in November 2025 and is about 11.36¢ now. On 750 kWh, that's roughly $32 more than a year ago on those lines alone. All of these are estimates before taxes, and your kWh will move them.

If you're on ComEd's hourly pricing, your version is the HPEA. It goes from a 2.296¢ credit in October to a 1.193¢ charge in November, a smaller swing. On ComEd's Time of Day rate, the matching line goes from a 0.110¢ charge in October to a 0.460¢ charge in November.

Who doesn't pay it

This is where November splits ComEd territory in two.

The Plug In Illinois page from the Commerce Commission is direct: "You will not be subject to the Purchased Electricity Adjustment when you switch to an ARES" (an alternative supplier). If a supplier or a fixed-price town aggregation sells you power, the 3.758¢ charge isn't on your bill.

Everyone still gets the bigger nuclear credit. ComEd's sheet labels the Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adj "Applicable to All Retail Customers." So a Rockford home on its town's 9.99¢ aggregation deal nets about 7.49¢ on supply this month, while its neighbor on ComEd's supply nets about 11.36¢. In a month like this, the fixed deal clearly comes out ahead.

Read your aggregation letter before you celebrate, though. On the Commission's aggregation list, dozens of ComEd-area towns are listed as "ComEd Match PTC+PEA." Those deals pass the adjustment straight through, so they pay November's charge too.

Should you switch suppliers over this?

My take: not because of one bill. The adjustment swings both ways. October handed ComEd customers a 1.551¢ credit, and the summer months sat near zero. Plug In Illinois says future values "would be expected to average near zero for the planning year," which runs June through May.

This year it hasn't, at least not yet. The six monthly factors from June through November 2026 average about 0.41¢. That's a real number to watch, but it's not a reason to sign a door-to-door contract on your porch. If you're shopping, my Chicago supplier post compares real offers against ComEd's price, and the supplier warning post covers what to avoid.

If one high month hurts more than the total does, budget billing spreads it out. The budget billing post explains how ComEd settles up. If money is tight, the bill help post has ComEd's discount income limits.

The bigger problem is that nobody can predict this bill

Think about what a ComEd household is juggling on the energy side now: a price that resets at least twice a year, an adjustment that swung more than 5¢ in a single month, and a nuclear credit tied to state contracts that end May 31, 2027. My October bill checklist walks through all of it, and the price to compare explainer covers what that headline number leaves out.

Solar won't erase November's charge. November is one of the weakest solar months in northern Illinois, as my fall and winter production post shows. What it can do is replace a big share of that moving supply side over a full year. A $0-down solar lease doesn't touch your delivery charges, but it swaps much of your supply cost for a predictable rate as low as $0.10/kWh, with your full 25-year rate schedule written into the contract before you sign. Whether that beats your bill depends on your roof and your usage, and every figure here is an estimate until it's on your actual bill.

Upload a ComEd bill to the rate analyzer below, or run the savings calculator. The ComEd rates page keeps current numbers. If you'd rather go over the bill with me, call (618) 217-2001 or use the contact page.

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  1. Find “Current Electricity Charges” (the total dollar amount for electricity this period)
  2. Find your total kWh used for the billing period
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  4. Example: $180 ÷ 1,100 kWh = $0.164/kWh (16.4¢)
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Frequently Asked Questions

If ComEd supplies your power, the main reason is a line called the Purchased Electricity Adjustment. ComEd's informational sheet filed October 19, 2026 sets it at a charge of 3.758 cents per kWh for the November 2026 billing period, after a credit of 1.551 cents in October. That's a swing of 5.309 cents. A bigger nuclear credit softens it: the Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adj grows from a 0.115-cent credit in October to a 2.503-cent credit in November. Put together, the supply side of a ComEd-supplied bill rises about 2.9 cents per kWh from October, or roughly $22 more on 750 kWh before taxes. ComEd's posted price to compare doesn't change in November; it's still 10.103 cents. Shorter days and the first heating loads can push usage up at the same time, so check your kWh too.
It's a monthly true-up on ComEd's own electricity supply. ComEd's Rider PE describes it as a credit or charge that equalizes what customers on ComEd's fixed-price supply paid for power with what ComEd actually spent buying it, so the utility doesn't over- or under-collect. ComEd buys power for those customers in advance, and the price to compare is set ahead of time, so the two never match perfectly. The adjustment settles the difference a month or two later. It changes every month, can be a credit or a charge, and isn't included in the posted price to compare of 10.103 cents. Over the last year it ranged from a 1.721-cent credit in November 2025 to an 8.166-cent charge in May 2026. On the Illinois Commerce Commission's table, which runs back to January 2017, only May 2026 tops November's 3.758-cent charge.
No, not if a supplier sells you a set price. The state's Plug In Illinois page says plainly: 'You will not be subject to the Purchased Electricity Adjustment when you switch to an ARES,' which means an alternative retail electric supplier. Town aggregation deals with a fixed price work the same way. The catch is deals priced to match ComEd. On the Commerce Commission's aggregation list, dozens of ComEd-area towns are listed as matching ComEd's price to compare plus the adjustment, so those homes pay the 3.758-cent charge in November along with everyone on ComEd's own supply. Everyone gets the bigger nuclear credit, though. ComEd's tariff sheet says the Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adj applies to all retail customers, so a household on a fixed supplier price sees its November bill get a 2.503-cent credit instead of October's 0.115 cents, roughly $18 more off on 750 kWh.
On 750 kWh, the November charge itself is about $28, compared with about $12 taken off by October's credit, so that line swings roughly $40. The larger nuclear credit takes back about $18, which leaves a net increase of roughly $22 from October on the supply side, before taxes. At 500 kWh, the net change is about $15. At 1,000 kWh it's about $29. Against last November the gap is wider. In November 2025, ComEd's price to compare was 9.689 cents, the adjustment was a 1.721-cent credit and the nuclear credit was 0.847 cents, which netted about 7.12 cents. This November nets about 11.36 cents, roughly $32 more on 750 kWh. These are estimates on the energy lines only. Delivery charges, taxes and your actual kWh will move the final number on your bill.
Nobody can say for sure, because ComEd sets it one month at a time and hasn't published December's figure yet. History suggests it swings rather than sticks. After the 8.166-cent charge in May 2026, it fell to 0.230 cents in June and spent the summer near zero, then went to a 1.551-cent credit in October. The state's Plug In Illinois page says future values 'would be expected to average near zero for the planning year,' which runs June through May. So far that average isn't zero: the six monthly factors from June through November 2026 average about 0.41 cents. The nuclear credit has its own clock. ComEd's base credit is 1.148 cents through December and 1.139 cents from January through May 2027, and the state contracts behind it end May 31, 2027. Watch the line on each bill rather than planning around one month.

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Here's how the lease transfer works, what buyers actually think, and why it's not the problem most people expect — owned systems too.Solar Lease vs Buying Panels: I Did the Math for IllinoisShould you lease or buy solar panels in Illinois? I broke down the real numbers for both paths using current 2026 prices, incentives, and Ameren/ComEd rates.Data Centers = 70% of Illinois's Rate Spike (Here's What It Costs You)Data centers drove 70% of Illinois's capacity-cost spike in 2026. See the PJM/MISO mechanism, the per-household cost impact, and what to do to protect your bill.ComEd Rate Increase 2026: Oct 1 Supply Drops to 10.103¢, but Delivery Didn'tUpdated Oct 2026: ComEd's 2026 rate increase put the Price to Compare at 10.399¢/kWh through September 30; from October 1 it is 10.103¢/kWh. What changed June 1, what reset October 1, the ICC delivery increases that didn't reset, and your all-in cost per kWh.Illinois Electricity Rates Have Nearly Doubled Since 2021 — Here's What That Means for Your BillIllinois electricity rates have surged 90%+ since 2021. Here's what's driving the increases, what to expect next, and how to protect your household.Illinois Solar Incentives 2026: 7 Programs Worth $12,000-$18,000+Illinois solar incentives 2026: Illinois Shines RECs, the new $20/REC customer-owned adder, $300/kW DG rebate, battery rebate, net metering, and property tax exemption — worth $12,000-$18,000+ on an owned system. Plus no-cost Solar for All for income-eligible households.Solar Battery Backup in Illinois — What It Actually Powers and Whether It's Worth ItWhat does a solar battery actually run during an outage? How much does it cost with the $300/kWh rebate? Here's the honest breakdown for Illinois homeowners.
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