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ICC ORMD Report: ComEd Shopping Customers Paid 2.4¢/kWh More Than Default Service In Past Year
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Residential customers on alternative retail electric supply (ARES) at Commonwealth Edison in Illinois paid, on average, 2.46¢ per kWh more for electricity supply in the past 12-month period (June 2024 through May 2025) versus the ComEd price to compare, per an annual report from the Office of Retail Market Development of the Illinois Commerce Commission
Residential ARES customers in the ComEd territory paid around $12.66 million more per month during June 2024 through May 2025 when compared to the ComEd Price-to-Compare (PTC), and $14.30 million more per month during June 2024 through May 2025 when compared to the ComEd PTC plus the Purchased Electricity Adjustment (PEA).
In terms of cents per kWh, residential ARES customers in the ComEd territory paid about 2.74 cents/kWh more than default service when including the PEA.
In no month during the June 2024 through May 2025 period was the aggregate cost of residential shopping customers at ComEd lower than the cost under the PTC, or under the PTC plus PEA.
On average, residential ARES customers in the Ameren territory paid around $6.55 million more per month during the last twelve months when compared to the Ameren PTC and $7.21 million more per month during the last twelve months when compared to the Ameren PTC including the PEA.
In terms of cents per kWh, residential ARES customers in the Ameren territory paid about 1.61 cents/kWh more when compared to the Ameren PTC and about 1.78 cents/kWh more when including the PEA.
As is customary, the ORMD report listed the following notes about the price comparisons:
1. These are total, or aggregate, savings. The savings for almost all individual customers differ from these averages;
2. These calculations are ex-post calculations and do not take into account how the ComEd default rates would have been different had more or fewer customers stayed on the utility’s default supply service;
3. Most of the ARES that serve residential customers have at least one offer that features a renewable energy or "green" component. The average rate information collected from the ARES includes the (usually higher) prices associated with those offers; and
4. Not captured in these numbers are rewards and incentives that are not part of the ARES electric supply rates. For example, several ARES offer one-time gift cards as an incentive to sign up for a particular offer; other offers contain rewards such as airline miles and other non-rate benefits. However, those non-rate benefits are difficult to quantify and include in such calculations. Additionally, Staff would have to make several more assumptions and receive far more additional detailed data from the ARES community to quantify the non-rate benefits offered by ARES.
In last year's report (June 2023-May 2024), ORMD had reported that, for the first time in eight years, the ComEd residential market experienced a significant decrease in competition and became moderately concentrated based on Herfindahl-Hirschmann Index (HHI) values, with the ComEd residential market's HHI value increasing from about 1,000 in 2023 (competitive) to 1,785 in 2024 (moderately concentrated)
This trend continued in the June 2024 to May 2025 period
The ComEd residential market's HHI value increased from 1,785 to 2,453 as of May 2025
While the 2,453 value is still within the "moderately concentrated" band, it is just below the "highly concentrated" threshold of 2,500
At ComEd for residential customers, the market share (of switched customers) of the largest 3 suppliers was 56% as of May 2025. While that's down slightly versus the year-ago market share of 59%, only one ARES has a residential market share greater than 15% as of May 2025, versus two suppliers a year ago. Furthermore, as of May 2025, there are zero suppliers with a market share between 5% and 15%, versus three suppliers in this range a year ago.
At ComEd, 55 of the 59 suppliers with residential customers had a market share of less than 5%
At ComEd, 41 of the suppliers with residential customers had a market share of less than 1%
Ameren's residential ARES market also saw a significant further increase in concentration. The Ameren residential ARES market HHI value increased from the year-ago value of 2,355, to a value of 3,629, which is in the highly concentrated band.
Statewide, as of the end of May 2025, approximately 1.18 million residential customers were on ARES service, compared to roughly 1.37 million customers in 2024
At ComEd, residential shopping was 724,039 customers, or 19.50% of customers, as of May 2025
At Ameren, residential shopping was 452,120 customers, or 42.79% of customers, as of May 2025
Statewide, the share of residential opt-out aggregation customers increased from 47% of all residential ARES customers in May 2024 to 55% as of May 2025.
Of the 452,120 residential ARES customers in the Ameren territory, 79% are municipal aggregation customers, which is an increase of 26% from last year.
In the ComEd territory, 39% of customers are served by a municipal aggregation, which is a decrease of 4% compared to last year.
Concerning rates charged by retail suppliers during the June 2024 to May 2025 period, in the ComEd territory, the lowest reported ARES rate was 3.78 cents per kWh for October 2024, which was a variable product.
The highest ARES rate charged in the ComEd territory was a variable rate charged in September through December 2024 of 39.1 cents per kWh.
The ORMD report stated, "The lowest rate charged in the Ameren territory was a variable rate product of 3.95 cents per kWh for June 2024 through May 2025. The highest rate charged in the Ameren territory also consists of a variable rate of 29.04 cents per kWh in November and December 2024."
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Retail Supplier Rate Of Nearly 40¢, Charged For Four Months, Reported
ComEd Residential Market Nearly Reaches Highly Concentrated Status
August 11, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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