ComEd Bills Are About to Spike Again — June 2026 Brings Another Record Capacity Cost
My phone has been ringing a lot more lately. The calls are all some version of the same conversation: "Ryan, my electric bill was insane this summer. What's coming next?"
I wish I had better news.
Another Record PJM Capacity Auction
The capacity auction for June 2026 through May 2027 just cleared at $329.17 per MW-day. That's another record — 22% higher than last year's already-historic price. For context, two years ago this same auction cleared at about $29/MW-day. We're now at 11x that level.
PJM is the grid operator for northern Illinois (ComEd territory). When their capacity costs go up, your bill goes up. There's no buffer. These costs flow directly into what you pay per kilowatt-hour.
The Citizens Utility Board is already warning consumers that ComEd prices will remain elevated "for at least the next few years." The Illinois Attorney General called for a new auction entirely to try to prevent these drastic increases. That tells you how serious this is.
What's Driving This
Two forces are colliding, and neither is going away.
Power plants are retiring faster than they're being replaced. PJM has decommissioned more generation capacity than it's built. Coal plants are shutting down. The reserve margins that keep the grid stable are shrinking. Less supply + same demand = higher prices. That's basic economics.
Data centers are eating the grid. This is the one my customers keep bringing up, and they're right to be concerned. PJM projects that data center demand will consume 13% of grid capacity by 2035. AI, crypto mining, cloud computing — they all need massive amounts of electricity, and they're all building in PJM territory. That demand drives up the capacity auction price, which drives up your bill.
One customer in Fairview Heights told me recently that he just expects the price to keep going up with no end in sight. I couldn't argue with him.
What This Means for Your Bill
ComEd's all-in residential rate is currently 17.07¢/kWh. That's already up 90% from five years ago when it was around 9¢/kWh.
With the new capacity costs kicking in June 2026, expect another bump on top of what you're already paying. CUB estimates the elevated capacity costs could persist through at least 2028. The June supply rate change hasn't been published yet, but based on the auction results, it won't be going down.
Here's what that looks like over time for a household using 1,000 kWh/month:
| Year | Approximate Rate | Monthly Bill | |------|-----------------|-------------| | 2021 | ~9¢/kWh | ~$90 | | 2024 | ~12.5¢/kWh | ~$125 | | 2026 (now) | ~17¢/kWh | ~$170 | | 2027 (projected) | ~19¢/kWh | ~$190 | | 2030 (projected) | ~23¢+/kWh | ~$230+ |
Those projections assume 6% annual increases, which is actually conservative given what we've seen.
What You Can Do About It
I'm not going to pretend there's a magic fix. But there is a straightforward one.
A solar lease locks your electricity rate at approximately $0.10/kWh for 15 years. No escalator. No capacity auction surprises. No June rate spikes. While ComEd climbs to 20¢, 25¢, and beyond, your rate stays fixed.
For a Chicago household paying $187/month to ComEd, that's an estimated $1,100+ in year-one electricity savings alone. In Naperville where bills average $240, estimated first-year savings top $1,400. Aurora, Joliet, Rockford — the math works across the board because ComEd's rate is so high.
After the 15-year lease, you can buy the system at fair market value — typically very affordable after 15 years — and then your electricity cost drops to near-zero for the remaining 10-15 years of panel life.
The Window Before June
If you're a ComEd customer who's been thinking about solar, the next 10 weeks matter. Getting a lease signed before June means you lock in your rate before the next spike hits. The process takes 6-12 weeks from consultation to activation, so starting now puts you right at that timeline.
I'm not trying to create artificial urgency. The urgency is real — it's published in the PJM auction results and confirmed by CUB, the Attorney General, and every utility analyst covering the market.
Check what the numbers look like for your city — every one of our 1,100+ ComEd city pages has local data specific to your area. Or use our Solar Savings Calculator to see estimated year-by-year projections.
Or just call me at (618) 217-2001. I'll pull up your city's numbers and walk you through it. 15 minutes, no obligation.
Sources:
- PJM 2026/2027 Capacity Auction Results — Enel North America
- PJM Capacity Prices Set Another Record — Utility Dive
- CUB: PJM Auction Threatens Higher ComEd Bills — Citizens Utility Board
- IL Attorney General Calls for New Auction — IL Attorney General
- ComEd Bills and AI Data Centers — Chicago Sun-Times
- CUB Power-Bill Guide: 2026 Rates — Citizens Utility Board
