Why is my ComEd bill so high in 2026?
You’re not imagining it. A record-setting grid-capacity price — what PJM pays to guarantee electricity on peak days — is flowing straight into ComEd’s supply rate, and Ameren spiked on its own grid too. Here’s the full mechanics, every number sourced, and what you can actually do about it.
That ZIP looks outside Illinois — we currently cover ComEd & Ameren homes only.
Why your ComEd bill is so high in 2026: it's the supply side, not your usage. The price PJM charges to guarantee power on peak days has nearly tripled in three years, hitting a record $333.44 per MW-day — driven largely by data-center demand — and that cost flows straight into ComEd’s rate. The result: ComEd’s supply price is 10.103¢/kWh from October 2026 through May 2027, about 53% higher than two years ago and only about 3% below the summer’s 10.399¢. Ameren’s summer rate was up a similar 39% on its own grid. Neither utility’s delivery charges — the other half of the bill — move with any of this. Every auction, every figure, and what you can actually do about it are below.
The increases are real — and documented.
This isn’t a vibe. Illinois’ own consumer watchdog has the numbers in writing.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
| Quick facts | Right now | Changes next |
|---|---|---|
| ComEd supply rate (Price to Compare) | 10.103¢/kWh (October 2026–May 2027) | June 1, 2027 — its transmission part changes in January 2027 |
| ComEd CFERA bill credit (CEJA) | About 0.115¢/kWh in October — down from about 1.6¢ in September | Resets monthly; set to end June 2027 |
| Ameren supply rate (Price to Compare) | 10.441¢/kWh on the first 800 kWh a month, 8.262¢ beyond | June 1, 2027 |
| ComEd fixed monthly charges | $19.07 | Every January |
| Ameren fixed monthly charges | $14.51 | Every January |
| PJM capacity price (2028/29, latest auction) | $325.00/MW-day | Locked through May 2029 |
Figures are point-in-time, last reviewed September 2026 — ComEd and Ameren Prices to Compare for October 2026 through May 2027, with summer 2026 figures shown for comparison. Sources: CUB (including its September 28, 2026 fall price alert) & Plug In Illinois. More dated figures: Illinois solar facts.
Why did my ComEd bill go up in October 2026?
Two line items changed on October bills, and they pull in opposite directions. The Price to Compare dipped about 3%, from 10.399¢ to 10.103¢ per kWh. But a credit most customers never noticed nearly disappeared: the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA), a line item created by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, turns into a credit when energy prices are high. CUB reports it was worth about 1.6¢ per kWh in September and about 0.115¢ in October.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
| Per kilowatt-hour | September 2026 | October 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price to Compare (supply + transmission) | 10.399¢ | 10.103¢ | −0.296¢ |
| CFERA credit | about −1.6¢ | about −0.115¢ | about +1.485¢ |
| Net on these two lines | about +1.2¢ per kWh |
Arithmetic on CUB’s published figures: on those two line items alone, a kilowatt-hour costs roughly 1.2¢ more in October than in September — about $8 more on a 700 kWh month. It leaves out the monthly Purchased Electricity Adjustment, and the CFERA amount is reset every month. CUB says the credit is set to end in June 2027. Source: CUB, September 28, 2026. What else the reset changed: the October 2026 ComEd rate reset.
Curious how much of this is your bill specifically?
These are the statewide averages. A 60-second check tells you where your address actually stands — no quote, no pressure.
Check my eligibility →How a capacity auction ends up on your bill.
In plain English — the machinery behind the number, step by step.
1. What a capacity auction actually is
Before any power is generated, the regional grid operator pays generators to guarantee enough supply will exist on the hottest, highest-demand days — years in advance. That guarantee price is set at auction. In northern Illinois the operator is PJM, and its auction result flows directly into the supply portion of every ComEd bill. CUB →
2. Three records in a row — and the newest auction is pinned at the cap
The trajectory: $28.92 (2024/25) → $269.92 (2025/26) → a record $329.17 (2026/27) → a record $333.44 (2027/28, set December 2025) → $325 per MW-day for 2028/29, set in PJM’s July 2026 auction — 2.5% below the record and again at the FERC price cap, the third consecutive auction pinned at the cap. That auction secured 138,318 MW for the delivery year running June 1, 2028 through May 31, 2029, so grid-capacity costs stay elevated through at least May 2029. CUB → PJM →
3. The driver: demand is surging — led by data centers
New large electricity users, especially data centers powering AI and cloud computing, are adding demand faster than the grid is adding supply. When the operator has to guarantee more capacity than the market comfortably has, the auction price climbs — and every household in the territory pays a share of it. CUB →
4. Ameren: different grid, and the numbers don’t compare
Ameren Illinois isn’t on PJM at all — it sits on the separate MISO grid, with its own auctions. Its summer 2026 price ran about 39% above summer 2024. But be careful with anyone placing the two auctions side by side: MISO clears prompt, seasonally and by zone; PJM clears forward and annually. Different lead times, different products — so the $/MW-day figures are not apples-to-apples, even though both regions hit records for the same underlying reasons. The Ameren side is broken down in full on why is my Ameren bill so high. CUB →
What else is on the bill — and why it doesn’t fall when supply does.
The increase is supply-side. The total isn’t. Roughly half a ComEd bill is delivery — the wires, poles and metering charges that arrive whether you use 200 kilowatt-hours or 2,000. Two of them are flat monthly fees that don’t move at all, and they reset on their own schedule every January, separate from the June and October supply changes.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
| ComEd charge (delivery side, not supply) | Amount | How it’s billed |
|---|---|---|
| Customer charge | $15.26/month | Fixed — every bill, whatever your usage |
| Standard metering charge | $3.81/month | Fixed — every bill |
| Fixed charges, total | $19.07/month | Arrives even in a month you use almost nothing |
| Distribution facilities charge | $0.06228/kWh | On every kilowatt-hour delivered to your home |
| Illinois electricity distribution tax | $0.00126/kWh | On every kilowatt-hour delivered |
Single-family, non-electric-space-heat delivery class, effective with the January 2026 billing period, per ComEd’s own Summary of Typical Residential Line Item Charges. Multi-family and electric-heat classes carry different values — check your own bill. Ameren Illinois’ fixed charges are lower at $14.51 a month ($8.55 customer + $5.96 meter, as of January 2026, per CUB).
If your bill jumped, the cause is almost certainly the supply rate above. If your bill is simply high every month, part of that is structural: about $19 arrives before you use a single kilowatt-hour, and delivery is charged on everything you draw. Solar credits offset the supply side for systems interconnected after 2024 — the delivery side keeps billing. That distinction is the whole subject of what your electric bill looks like after solar, and the supply half changed again at the October 2026 rate reset.
Your utility, your rate — and when it changes next.
Both territories spiked into 2026, but they sit on different grids with different rates and reset timing. Here’s the side-by-side.
ComEd PJM grid
- RegionNorthern Illinois (Chicago and suburbs), on the PJM grid.
- Supply price (Price to Compare)10.103¢/kWh from October 1, 2026 through May 2027 — about 53% above two years ago, and only about 3% below the summer’s 10.399¢. What the October reset changed.
- Fixed monthly charges$19.07 — $15.26 customer + $3.81 metering, as of January 2026. Billed regardless of usage.
- What drove itPJM capacity prices set records three years running — $28.92 → $269.92 → $329.17 → $333.44 per MW-day — and the July 2026 auction cleared at $325, at the cap again. Those costs flow directly into this rate.
Ameren MISO grid
- RegionCentral and southern Illinois, on the separate MISO grid.
- Supply price (Price to Compare)10.441¢/kWh on the first 800 kWh a month and 8.262¢ beyond, October 2026 through May 2027 — after a summer 2026 price of 11.326¢, about 39% above summer 2024. Full breakdown: why is my Ameren bill so high.
- Fixed monthly charges$14.51 — $8.55 customer + $5.96 meter, as of January 2026.
- What drove itA different grid and different auctions — the same supply-and-demand pressure, but MISO’s prompt seasonal auctions and PJM’s forward annual ones are not directly comparable, so don’t read the two $/MW-day figures side by side.
Supply rates are Price to Compare; fixed charges are as of January 1, 2026. Last reviewed September 2026. Sources: Plug In Illinois & CUB. The Day Company is not affiliated with either utility. How each one credits rooftop solar: ComEd net metering and Ameren net metering, plus Ameren’s virtual power plant for batteries.
Honest answer: this looks structural, not a one-time blip.
Capacity prices are set in auctions years ahead — the December 2025 result locked in a third straight record, and the July 2026 auction cleared at the regulatory cap yet again, keeping those costs elevated through at least May 2029. That doesn’t mean your bill rises every single month; rates move up and down — ComEd’s price dipped about 3% on October 1, 2026, and the next summer price starts June 1, 2027. But the forces behind the trend — demand growing faster than supply — are long-term. We won’t predict an exact future number for you. The point is simpler: this is worth planning around, not waiting out.
You can’t set the capacity-auction price or how many data centers connect to the grid. What you can influence is how exposed your household is to those rates — by reducing how much electricity you buy from the utility in the first place.
Start with the free moves. Then the real lever.
In order of effort — the first five cost little or nothing; the sixth is the one that changes your exposure.
Buy less grid power in the first place.
Every kilowatt-hour you produce on your own roof is one you’re not buying at a rate shaped by record capacity auctions — and a battery lets you store it for the expensive hours and for outages. It’s the one move that structurally lowers your exposure to the spikes above. Whether it pencils out depends on your home — the calculator below puts a 25-year number on staying fully exposed.
- See the honest math first: is solar worth it in Illinois in 2026?
- What it actually costs here: how much do solar panels cost in Illinois? — the state’s own figures, which run about 20% above the numbers comparison sites publish.
- And what still lowers the cost: Illinois solar incentives for 2026, plus the federal-credit reality on did the solar tax credit end? and whether Illinois has its own on does Illinois have a state solar tax credit?
- Thinking about storage for the expensive hours: is a solar battery worth it in Illinois?
- A battery’s other jobs: what ComEd’s virtual power plant asks of it, and every Illinois battery incentive in one place.
- Utility rebates: ComEd’s $300-per-kW solar rebate and its $300-per-kWh battery rebate, with the strings attached — plus whether solar raises your property taxes.
- Is your home a fit? Roof requirements, whether your roof gets enough sun, what an HOA can and can’t block, how panels hold up to hail, how solar performs through an Illinois winter, and what happens when you sell.
- Already holding a quote: is it a good deal?
- Comparing financing offers: why is my solar loan bigger than the cash price?
- Weighing a lease or PPA instead of buying: lease vs PPA vs buying, compared.
- Before you sign with anyone: how do you verify a solar installer is legitimate?
See what doing nothing could cost you.
Match it to your home and watch the chart move. Every figure is an honest estimate — and you control every assumption behind it.
A starting estimate from typical Illinois usage. Know your real bill? Switch to “I know my bill” for a closer number.
An assumption you control — not a prediction. Illinois supply prices recently jumped far more than this in a single year, and record capacity auctions have grid costs elevated at least into 2029.
The share of your power a well-sized system might cover. Most good-fit homes land near 80–100% — the full sizing method is on how many solar panels you need in Illinois.
(estimate, before system cost)
How these estimates work. Figures are illustrative estimates, not a quote, guarantee, or promise of savings. The 25-year cost compounds your monthly bill at the annual increase you select. The “offset” figure is the gross share of that utility cost a system might cover — capped at 100% of your bill, and it does not include system price, financing, taxes, or incentives, which a full review covers. System size is a rough estimate using standard Illinois solar production; the real method is on how many solar panels you need in Illinois, and what a system costs is on how much solar panels cost in Illinois. When estimating from home size, we assume typical Illinois usage of about 0.40 kWh per sq ft each month for gas-heated homes and 0.75 for electric-heated homes, at an all-in rate of ~16.46¢/kWh for ComEd — the 10.103¢ October-to-May Price to Compare plus the 6.228¢ distribution facilities charge and 0.126¢ distribution tax shown above — or an estimated ~14.6¢/kWh for Ameren, built on its 10.441¢ price for the first 800 kWh a month, whose per-kilowatt-hour delivery components we have not verified at source. Your real numbers depend on your home, roof, shade, usage, system design, and final terms. Rate data last reviewed September 2026 — sources: Plug In Illinois, ComEd and the Citizens Utility Board.
That number isn’t fixed — how exposed you are to it is the part you can change.
If the math above gave you pause, the next step is simple: a quick, no-obligation check of whether producing your own power makes sense for your specific roof and usage. No quote, no pressure — just a straight answer for your address.
Check my eligibility →The Day Company is an Illinois solar and battery information resource and a lead-generation business. Information you submit may be used by our review team and one authorized partner to contact you about your request. Checking eligibility creates no obligation. How we’re funded and how we source figures: our editorial standards.
Your high Illinois bill, explained.
Why is my ComEd bill so high in 2026? +
Mostly the supply side — the cost of the electricity itself, not your usage. The PJM capacity price that feeds ComEd's supply rate set records three years running (from $28.92 to $333.44 per MW-day), and the newest auction — July 2026 — cleared at $325, again at the regulatory cap. The run-up is driven largely by surging data-center demand. CUB puts ComEd's summer price about 50% above two years ago, with ComEd estimating roughly 12% more, on average, from June 2026 through May 2027. Separately, the delivery half of the bill — $19.07 a month in fixed charges plus per-kilowatt-hour distribution charges — doesn't fall when supply does, and resets each January. From October 2026 through May 2027 the Price to Compare is 10.103¢ per kWh, which CUB puts about 53% above two years earlier.
What is the PJM capacity auction? +
It's how PJM — the regional grid operator serving ComEd — pays generators in advance to guarantee enough power on peak-demand days. The clearing price flows into ComEd's supply rate. It jumped from $28.92 to $269.92, then a record $329.17 per MW-day, and the December 2025 auction cleared at $333.44 — a third consecutive record. The newest auction, held July 2026 for the 2028/29 delivery year, cleared at $325 — again at the FERC price cap.
When does the ComEd rate change next? +
ComEd's Price to Compare reset on October 1, 2026 to 10.103¢/kWh, down about 3% from the summer's 10.399¢, and holds through May 2027. Its transmission part changes in January 2027, and the next summer price starts June 1, 2027. Delivery charges reset on their own separate schedule each January. What the October reset actually changed: the October 2026 ComEd rate reset.
Why did my ComEd bill go up in October 2026 if the price dropped? +
Because a credit shrank more than the price fell. ComEd's Price to Compare dipped about 3% on October 1, from 10.399¢ to 10.103¢ per kWh. But the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA) — a line item created by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that turns into a credit when energy prices are high — fell from about 1.6¢ per kWh in September to about 0.115¢ in October, according to CUB. On those two lines alone, a kilowatt-hour costs roughly 1.2¢ more than in September. The amount resets monthly, and CUB says the credit is set to end in June 2027.
How long will ComEd prices stay high? +
No one can promise a future rate. What's documented: capacity prices are set years in advance, and PJM's July 2026 auction cleared at $325 per MW-day — just below the $333.44 record and again at the regulatory cap — covering the delivery year that runs June 1, 2028 through May 31, 2029. That keeps grid-capacity costs elevated through at least May 2029. Rates can move month to month, but the structural pressure is locked in for now.
Is Ameren going up too? +
Yes. Ameren Illinois' summer 2026 Price to Compare of 11.326¢/kWh ran about 39% above summer 2024; from October 2026 through May 2027 it is 10.441¢ on the first 800 kWh a month and 8.262¢ beyond. Ameren sits on the separate MISO grid with its own auctions — two different grids spiking in parallel is part of why this looks structural rather than a one-utility issue. One caution: MISO clears prompt, seasonally and by zone while PJM clears forward and annually, so the two auctions' dollar figures are not directly comparable. The Ameren side is broken down on why is my Ameren bill so high.
Is my bill high because I used more electricity? +
Probably not — the spike is in the rate you pay per kilowatt-hour, not primarily in how much you used. Usage still matters at the margins (weather, air conditioning, new devices), but the documented driver is grid-level capacity costs that every household in the territory pays a share of.
What are ComEd's fixed monthly charges? +
$19.07 a month for a single-family, non-electric-heat home — a $15.26 customer charge plus a $3.81 standard metering charge, effective with the January 2026 billing period per ComEd's own line-item summary. They arrive whatever your usage. On top of those, delivery is charged per kilowatt-hour: 6.228¢ distribution facilities plus 0.126¢ distribution tax. Ameren Illinois' fixed charges total $14.51.
Can switching electricity suppliers fix my bill? +
Be careful. Alternative-supplier offers can start below the utility rate and later reset to higher variable rates, and Illinois' consumer watchdog has repeatedly warned about bad alternative-supplier deals. We don't advise for or against switching — compare any offer to your utility's Price to Compare and read the full contract terms first.
Can I lower my ComEd bill with Hourly Pricing? +
Possibly. ComEd's Hourly Pricing plan bills the real-time market rate instead of the fixed Price to Compare, and it's the one plan where solar export credits apply as a dollar amount against your bill rather than a flat per-kWh rate — on a real 2025 system we tracked, one month landed at exactly $0. It cuts both ways: hourly rates can also spike above the fixed rate on the wrong days, and it doesn't touch the fixed delivery charges above. Full breakdown and a real month-by-month example: how ComEd Hourly Pricing plus solar works.
Are the free home battery offers in ComEd territory legitimate? +
They're real offers from licensed Illinois suppliers, and the discount against ComEd's Price to Compare is genuine. What the sales material tends to skip is the length: the battery agreement runs 12 years with one company and 15 with the other, ending early costs $500 if you return the battery and far more if you keep it, and neither offer works alongside rooftop solar. We compare both from their own contracts on free home battery offers in Illinois, explained.
Does solar still lower a ComEd bill under supply-only net metering? +
The spike lives in the supply portion of your bill — exactly the part your own production replaces. Systems interconnected on or after January 1, 2025 earn supply-side credits for exported power, with unused credits carrying forward, which makes using more of your own production — and pairing solar with a battery — more valuable. What stays on the bill either way is the delivery side: your electric bill after solar. Whether it pencils out depends on your home; see is solar worth it in Illinois in 2026.
What does solar actually cost in Illinois? +
The Illinois Power Agency — the state agency that sets Illinois Shines REC prices — models residential solar at $3.73 per DC watt in ComEd territory and $3.66 in Ameren territory for 2026, or roughly $37,300 for a 10 kW system before incentives. National comparison sites publish $2.81 to $3.15 for Illinois, about 20% lower, because most of them publish quote averages rather than prices actually paid. The full breakdown, including what drives one quote above another, is on how much do solar panels cost in Illinois.
ComEd vs Ameren — who pays more right now? +
They're close on supply: from October 2026 through May 2027, ComEd's Price to Compare is 10.103¢/kWh and Ameren's is 10.441¢ on the first 800 kWh a month (8.262¢ beyond). On fixed monthly charges ComEd is higher — $19.07 against Ameren's $14.51, as of January 2026. Different grids, different auctions, different reset timing — confirm your own rate with your utility or Plug In Illinois.
Going solar in ComEd territory? See the ComEd Solar Guide 2026 — supply rates, supply-only net metering, and Group B REC pricing, every figure linked to its official source. Or browse every question we’ve answered in the Illinois Solar Answers library.
Illinois solar, answered in depth.
The honest answer, charge by charge — what disappears and what never does.
How much do solar panels cost in Illinois?The state’s own cost figures — and why they run about 20% above what comparison sites publish.
ComEd’s October 2026 rate resetWhat changed when the supply price reset on October 1 — and what’s pushing it.
Free home battery offers, explainedThe bundled battery-and-supply deals now in ComEd territory — and the 12-to-15-year commitment behind them.
Do you need a permit for solar in Chicago?The city pathway, the real fees, landmark rules, and why condos are a different question entirely.
Why is my Ameren bill so high?Downstate on the MISO grid — the 800 kWh tier, and why summer costs far more on the same usage.
Is solar worth it in Illinois in 2026?The honest cost-vs-value breakdown for ComEd and Ameren homes.
Illinois solar incentives in 2026Illinois Shines, the smart-inverter rebate, and what still stacks after the federal credit.
Local guides: solar permits in Aurora · solar panels in Peoria (Ameren territory).
Sources · 12 documents behind this page
- Citizens Utility Board — CUB alerts ComEd customers of new fall power price: 10.103¢ per kWh (September 28, 2026)
- Citizens Utility Board — Electric rates
- Citizens Utility Board — Why is ComEd’s price spiking? (June 2026)
- Citizens Utility Board — Why is Ameren’s electricity price spiking? (June 2026)
- Citizens Utility Board — 2026 electric rates report (fixed charges)
- Citizens Utility Board — alternative-supplier warning (October 2025)
- Citizens Utility Board — capacity price spike Q&A (May 2025)
- Plug In Illinois (ICC) — ComEd Price to Compare
- Plug In Illinois (ICC) — Ameren Illinois Price to Compare
- ComEd — Summary of Typical Residential Line Item Charges (PDF)
- PJM — 2028/29 capacity auction results (July 2026)
- PJM — 2027/28 capacity auction results (December 2025)
Changelog · last updated September 29, 2026 · 3 updates
- September 29, 2026 — Re-checked every figure. ComEd’s Price to Compare updated to 10.103¢ and Ameren’s to 10.441¢ (8.262¢ beyond 800 kWh) for October 2026 through May 2027, with the summer figures kept for comparison; the two-year increase now uses CUB’s October figure of about 53%. Added a section and an FAQ on why October bills rose even though the price fell (the shrinking CFERA credit), a CFERA row in the quick-facts table, a sources list and a citation note. The calculator now uses the October prices. The page now links every Illinois solar guide in the library, 19 more than before, plus 4 more site pages. Site-wide header and footer update.
- August 7, 2026 — Added ComEd Hourly Pricing coverage, a quick-facts table, a reading-progress indicator, and a share-this-answer row; refreshed review date.
- June 23, 2026 — Published.
See if you can stop renting power at a rising rate.
You can’t control the capacity auction — but you can check whether generating your own power makes sense for your home. The next step is a quick, no-obligation eligibility check for your specific ComEd or Ameren address.