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Illinois Homes Lost $2.3 Billion to Electric Supplier Switching — Check One Line on Your Bill

Ryan Cook•August 11, 2026•Updated Sep 13, 2026

The State of Illinois keeps a running scorecard on whether shopping for your own electric supplier saves money. The 2026 edition landed August 10, and the answer is the same as every year I've been watching: for homeowners, mostly no. CUB's review of the new state data, published August 10, puts the damage at more than $2.3 billion since 2015 — money ComEd and Ameren Illinois households paid to alternative suppliers above what the utility itself would have charged for the same electricity.

That's not an activist estimate. The numbers come from the Illinois Commerce Commission's own Office of Retail Market Development, which publishes an annual report comparing what alternative-supplier customers actually paid against the utility's default rate. The 2026 report covers June 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026.

The year that just ended: $206 million, gone

In the last twelve months alone, Illinois households paid about $206 million more than they would have on plain ComEd or Ameren supply. Split the decade total by utility and it's $1.53 billion in ComEd territory and $837.7 million in Ameren territory.

Here's the part that gets me, living and working down here in Ameren country. ComEd has far more customers on alternative suppliers in raw numbers — about 715,750 households, or roughly 19% of its residential customers. But in Ameren territory, it's about 421,710 households — roughly 40% of all Ameren residential customers. Four in ten. If you're reading this in Belleville, Springfield, or Peoria, flip a coin twice and that's about the odds your neighbor is on one of these deals.

And Ameren customers are getting the worse end of it. The average overpayment in ComEd territory was about 1.28 cents per kWh. In Ameren territory it was 3.05 cents per kWh — well over twice as much.

How bad can one contract get?

The averages hide the horror stories. CUB's review found variable rates being charged as high as 35.32 cents per kWh in ComEd territory and 38 cents in Ameren territory. The utility defaults this summer are 10.399 cents (ComEd) and 11.326 cents (Ameren). That's three to four times the going rate, for identical electrons over the same wires.

The pattern behind most of these is familiar from a decade of complaint files: a fixed "teaser" rate that genuinely looks competitive, a contract term that quietly ends, and a variable rate afterward that nobody re-checks. The electricity doesn't change. The wires don't change. Only the price does.

My take: the market isn't evil, it's just built to punish inattention. These companies are betting you won't read your bill in month 14. Statistically, they're right.

The one line to check tonight

Pull up your latest bill — paper or the app, doesn't matter. Find the section labeled "Supply" or "Electric Supply Services." Now read who's listed as the supplier.

If it says ComEd or Ameren Illinois, you're on the default rate and this report isn't about you. If it names anyone else, compare the cents-per-kWh figure on that line against the Price to Compare: 10.399¢ for ComEd, 11.326¢ for Ameren through September 30. Both utilities reset that number on October 1, so re-check it this fall. We keep current numbers posted on our Ameren rates and ComEd rates pages year-round.

One honest wrinkle: if your town runs municipal aggregation, your supplier line may show a company your community chose in a bulk deal. Those are negotiated rates and often fine. The way to tell is simple — aggregation came with a letter from your village and an opt-out window, not a doorstep signature.

Switching back costs nothing on the utility side, and there's no penalty from ComEd or Ameren for returning. Better than that: since January 1, 2020, Illinois law says residential customers can leave an alternative supplier contract at any time with no early termination fee or penalty. If a supplier claims otherwise, that's a complaint for the ICC at 800-524-0795. Expect up to two billing cycles before the switch shows on your bill, and you still owe whatever you already used at the old rate.

Why I'm writing about this on a solar site

Because it's the same sales pitch. "Stop paying the utility's rate" is exactly what alternative suppliers promised at a million Illinois doors — and it's what every solar company, including the ones I work with, says too. The state's scorecard on the supplier version of that promise is a $2.3 billion loss. I'd rather you hear that from me than from a complaint form.

The difference is structural, not motivational. A supplier resells grid power and can reprice it when the term lapses. A solar lease gives you a predictable rate on electricity generated from your own roof — leases I work with start as low as $0.10 per kWh, though that's an estimate until we've looked at your actual usage and roof. Illinois also wraps solar leases in their own consumer protections: a state-mandated disclosure form before signing and a rescission right of at least three calendar days under Illinois Shines rules.

Neither one touches delivery charges — that part of the bill stays with your utility no matter what you do. Anyone who tells you otherwise, on either product, is the person this article is warning you about. If you want the honest version of the math, the lease-versus-buying comparison walks through it, and our breakdown of ComEd versus Ameren costs covers what supply shopping can and can't reach.

Check the supply line on your bill this week. If the number next to it starts with a 2 or a 3, you've found real money. Then, if you want to see what a predictable supply rate from your own roof would look like, run your numbers through our savings calculator or call me at (618) 217-2001 — I'll tell you if it doesn't make sense, too.

Sources

Citizens Utility Board — CUB review of state data: ComEd, Ameren residential customers have lost more than $2.3 billion to alternative power suppliers — published August 10, 2026
ICC Office of Retail Market Development — 2026 annual report (June 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026)
220 ILCS 5/16-119 — no-termination-fee rule, effective January 1, 2020
Utility Price to Compare figures effective June 1 – September 30, 2026

Accessed August 11, 2026; updated September 2, 2026. Rate figures are estimates of program averages, not a projection for any individual household.

Frequently Asked Questions

Look at the supply or electric supply section of your bill. If it names ComEd or Ameren Illinois as your supplier, you're on the default utility rate. If it names any other company, you're with an alternative supplier. The delivery section will always say ComEd or Ameren — they own the wires no matter who sells you the electricity — so don't stop reading at the top of the page. Then compare the price shown against the utility's Price to Compare, which runs 10.399 cents per kWh for ComEd and 11.326 cents for Ameren through September 30, 2026. One caveat: if your town voted for municipal aggregation, your community chose a supplier for you, and those deals are negotiated in bulk. Check whether your rate came from your city or from a salesperson before you judge it.

The state's own numbers say it rarely works out for households. The ICC's Office of Retail Market Development found residential customers paid about $206 million more than the utility price in the year ending May 2026 — an average of 1.28 cents per kWh extra in ComEd territory and 3.05 cents extra in Ameren territory. A fixed-rate offer can occasionally beat the default rate for a stretch, especially right before the utility's October 1 price reset. The trouble is what happens after the teaser term, when many contracts flip to a variable rate. CUB's review found variable rates as high as 35 to 38 cents per kWh — three to four times the default. If you do sign one, calendar the end date of the fixed term and check the rate that month, not a year later.

Call your utility and ask to return to default supply service — ComEd at 800-334-7661 or Ameren Illinois at 800-755-5000. The utility side of the switch is free, and neither company charges you a penalty for coming back. The switch takes effect at a coming meter read, so CUB says to expect up to two months before the old supplier is off your bill. Here's the part most people don't know: since January 1, 2020, Illinois law has given residential customers the right to leave an alternative supplier contract at any time with no early termination fee or penalty. If a supplier tells you there's an exit fee, that's your cue to file a complaint. You still owe whatever electricity you'd already used at the old rate. If you feel a supplier misled you, complain to the Illinois Commerce Commission at 800-524-0795 — and if you just signed up, you have 10 days after the utility processes the enrollment to rescind it outright.

Municipal aggregation is when your city or village negotiates a bulk electricity supply deal for all its residents, usually after a referendum. It's a real program — dozens of Illinois towns have one — and because the community bargains as a group, aggregation rates are often reasonable and sometimes beat the utility default. That's a different animal from an individual offer that shows up at your door or in your mailbox, where the state data shows most households end up overpaying. The confusion between the two is exactly what some sales pitches lean on — a salesperson implying they're with your town's program, or with the utility, when they're not. If someone claims your village sent them, call your village hall and ask. An aggregation switch comes with an official notice and an opt-out window, not a signature on a tablet at your doorstep.

They rhyme — both are pitched as an escape from the utility's supply rate — but the structure is different in ways that matter. An alternative supplier resells you grid electricity, and the state's data shows the average household ends up paying more, not less. A solar lease puts equipment on your roof that produces the electricity, at a rate that can run as low as $0.10 per kWh and stays predictable for 25 years — that's an estimate until someone has looked at your actual usage and roof. Illinois also regulates the two differently. Solar leases under Illinois Shines come with a state-mandated disclosure form before you sign and a rescission window of at least three calendar days. Neither replaces reading the contract, and neither touches delivery charges — those stay with ComEd or Ameren either way. The honest comparison is supply portion versus supply portion.