Residential Migration at ComEd Nears 100,000

About 83,000 residential customers have switched to an alternative retail electric supplier (ARES) at Commonwealth Edison as of June 24, 2011, the Illinois Office of Retail Market Development said in an annual report.

The statistic, less than 2.5% of accounts, includes all customers that have enrolled with an ARES, regardless of whether they have completed the first billing cycle under ARES service.

As only reported in Matters (6/13), ComEd residential migration was 21,000 accounts as of May 31, 2011; however, ORMD clarified that the monthly reports from ComEd only reflect customers who have completed at least one billing cycle with an alternative retail electric supplier, rather than all customers who have completed an enrollment and switch after a meter read regardless of whether they have completed a full billing cycle under ARES supply.

This billing cycle metric explains the even greater lag in Illinois statistics beyond the simple lag from contract execution to completed enrollment (at the meter read), and why the as-reported migration has been seemingly low despite five months of active offers from multiple suppliers, since it adds another 30 days on top of the up to 45 day lag from submitted switch to completed enrollment.