analysis5 min read

Illinois Electric Rates Keep Climbing — Does Solar Finally Make Sense in 2026?

Ryan Cook•June 19, 2026

If your Illinois electric bill made you wince this summer, you're not imagining it, and you're not alone. Both utilities reset rates on June 1, and the new numbers continue a five-year climb that's roughly doubled what we pay. The question I get most isn't "why is this happening" anymore. It's "is this ever going to stop, and what can I actually do about it?"

Let me give you the real picture, a way to see what you're on track to overpay, and an honest answer on whether solar makes sense for you.

The Climb Is Real — Here Are the Numbers

	Ameren Illinois	ComEd
All-in rate today (est.)	~15.5¢/kWh (up to ~20¢ summer)	~17¢/kWh
Rate ~5 years ago	~8¢/kWh	~9¢/kWh
Five-year change	+94%	+90%
What's next	Another rate filing signaled	Bills projected +~$70/mo by 2028

Bar chart of Illinois all-in electricity rates in cents per kWh for Ameren and ComEd in 2021, today in 2026, and projected next year, showing increases of about 90 to 94 percent over five years

Sources and full year-by-year history: Ameren rate breakdown · ComEd rate breakdown.

This isn't a one-summer spike. The drivers are structural. Record wholesale capacity auction prices (PJM up over 1,000% in two years, MISO up over 2,000% in one), plus surging demand — PJM's own market monitor pinned about 70% of the capacity cost increase on data centers. The Illinois Power Agency projects capacity shortfalls starting in 2029 for northern Illinois and 2031 for the south. We broke down the June reset in detail in our latest rate analysis.

Translation: the people who set these rates are telling you, in their own filings, that this keeps going.

See What You're On Track to Overpay

Here's the trap with utility bills. We think about them one month at a time, so the compounding hides in plain sight.

A $200 monthly bill isn't a $200 problem. At the kind of increases Illinois has seen for five straight years, that bill compounds into a number over 10 and 15 years that's a lot bigger than simple multiplication suggests. Most people have never added it up.

Add it up.

☀️ Illinois Bill Forecaster — Scroll to the interactive tool at the end of this article. Enter your current monthly bill and utility, and see what you're projected to pay over the next 10–30 years if rates keep climbing at the recent Illinois pace — next to a predictable $0-down solar rate over the same window. The gap is your potential overpayment. Or open it full-screen →

If you'd rather start from your actual bill, that same tool reads your real charges, and the savings calculator shows city-specific solar numbers for your address. No national averages — your figures.

So, Is Solar Worth It?

Honest answer: for most homes with decent roof exposure, the rising-rate trend is the whole reason it works. Solar replaces power you'd otherwise buy at 17–20¢/kWh with electricity from your own roof. So the more rates climb, the more each kilowatt-hour you produce is worth.

You've got three real paths in Illinois:

$0-down lease — a predictable rate instead of renting one. As low as $0.10/kWh, predictable for 25 years, battery backup included, no upfront cost. The gap between that predictable rate and the utility widens every time rates rise. How a lease works → or see what one costs per month.
Cash purchase — own it. Adds Illinois SREC payments and decades of low-cost power. It no longer gets the 30% federal homeowner credit, which ended in 2025, but ownership still wins long-term for some buyers.
Solar for All — no cost for income-qualified households, with guaranteed savings built into the program. Check eligibility →

It's not worth it for everyone. A heavily shaded roof or very low usage can change the answer, and I'll tell you straight if it doesn't fit. But high, rising rates tilt the math toward yes for a lot of Illinois homes.

My Take

I've watched this climb for five years now, and the thing that frustrates me is how normal it's become. People budget for the increase like it's weather. Something that just happens to you.

It doesn't have to. The whole point of solar is to stop renting a rate that only goes one direction. You don't have to commit to anything to see the math. Start with the forecaster above, or check your roof in about a minute. If the numbers don't make sense for your home, I'll be the first to tell you. If they do, every summer you wait is the most expensive one yet.

See what solar saves in your city →

Ryan Cook is the founder of Ltd Solar Consulting, helping Illinois homeowners compare solar options across Ameren and ComEd territory. Get a free quote or call (618) 217-2001.

Interactive Tool

See What You're Really On Track to Pay

Enter your bill (or upload it) and watch your projected utility cost over the next 10–30 years — next to a predictable $0-down solar rate. The gap is your potential overpayment.

⚡Upload Your Utility Bill

Upload your Ameren or ComEd bill to see what electricity is costing you — and what it could cost over the next 25 years.

📄Drop your bill here or tap to uploadPhotos and PDFs up to 10 MB — we'll compress photos automatically

Or Enter Manually

How to find your rate on your bill:

Find “Current Electricity Charges” (the total dollar amount for electricity this period)
Find your total kWh used for the billing period
Divide the charges by the kWh: $charges ÷ kWh = your $/kWh rate
Example: $180 ÷ 1,100 kWh = $0.164/kWh (16.4¢)

Your Rate (¢/kWh)

Monthly Bill ($)

Annual Rate Inflation: 6%

Conservative (2%)Historical (4-6%)Aggressive (10%)

Time Horizon

Frequently Asked Questions

Two forces are driving it, and neither is going away soon. First, wholesale capacity auctions — the markets that pay power plants to be available — cleared at record prices for 2026–27. PJM, which serves ComEd, jumped over 1,000% in two years; MISO, which serves Ameren, jumped more than 2,000%. Utilities pass those costs straight into the supply portion of your bill. Second, surging electricity demand, especially from data centers; PJM's own market monitor attributed about 70% of the capacity cost spike to data centers. On top of that, both utilities have won delivery rate increases through the Illinois Commerce Commission. The result is an all-in rate around 17¢/kWh for ComEd and up to 20¢/kWh in Ameren's summer — roughly double what Illinois paid in 2021, with more increases already filed.

A lot, and fast. Ameren Illinois rates are up roughly 94% over five years, climbing from around 8¢/kWh in 2021 toward an all-in average near 15.5¢ today, with summer rates hitting about 20¢/kWh. ComEd rates are up roughly 90% over the same period, from around 9¢ to an all-in average near 17¢/kWh. And the climb isn't finished: Ameren has signaled another rate filing, and ComEd customers are projected to see bills rise by around $70 a month by 2028 as capacity and grid costs flow through. These are averages — your actual rate depends on your usage, season, and whether you shop suppliers. But the direction has been one way for five straight years, and the structural drivers point the same way for the next several.

For most homes with decent roof exposure, the rising-rate trend is exactly what makes solar pencil out. Solar replaces grid power you'd otherwise buy at 17–20¢/kWh with electricity produced on your own roof, so the more rates climb, the more each kilowatt-hour you produce is worth. A $0-down lease gives you a rate as low as $0.10/kWh, predictable for 25 years — and the gap between that predictable rate and your utility rate widens every time the utility raises prices. A cash purchase adds Illinois SREC payments and decades of low-cost power, though it no longer gets the federal homeowner tax credit that ended in 2025. Income-qualified households may go solar at no cost through Illinois Solar for All. Worth it isn't universal — it depends on your roof and usage — but high rates tilt the math toward yes.

Start with your current monthly bill and project it forward using the trend, not a flat line. If your bill is $200 a month today and rates rise even modestly each year — as they have for five straight years in Illinois — that bill compounds into a far larger number over 10 or 15 years than simple multiplication suggests. A useful exercise is to total what you're on track to pay the utility over the next 15 years at a realistic rate of increase, then compare it to a predictable solar rate over the same window. That gap is your potential overpayment. Our rate tools do this math for your specific bill and utility so you're working with your real numbers, not a national average — and they'll show whether a predictable rate would have come out ahead.

They solve different problems, and you can think of them as short-term versus long-term. Switching to an alternative retail supplier through Plug In Illinois can shave the supply portion of your bill if you find a fixed rate below the utility's Price to Compare — but watch for teaser rates that reset higher, monthly fees, and early termination charges, and remember it never touches delivery charges. Solar addresses the whole structure: instead of shopping for a slightly better rate to rent, you produce your own power and largely step out of the rate-increase cycle. Switching suppliers is a reasonable move while you decide. Solar is the move if you want to stop being exposed to capacity auctions and data center demand altogether. Many homeowners do the first while they evaluate the second.