WATCH: Legislators Grill ComEd at Public Hearing
After a summer of big power outages, state reps look for answers.
Photos
Videos
Dissatisfaction with answers from ComEd at a hearing of the Illinois House Public Utilities Committee Tuesday in Highland Park is causing members of the General Assembly to rethink their support for legislation favored by ComEd.
Earlier: ComEd's Legislative Support Evaporates
State Rep. Karen May (D-Highland Park) arranged the meeting in the northern suburbs after more than 1.2 million ComEd customers were left without power in the aftermath of storms June 21 and July 11.
Twelve members or substitute members of the committee heard ComEd President and Chief Operating Officer Ann Pramaggiore tell a gathering of more than 200 people at the Highland Park Country Club the company was prepared to make changes.
Watch the video above.
liliana fargo
11:09 am on Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Smart Grid plan basically will allow ComEd to conveniently manipulate rates, while reducing also supervision from state regulators, and at the end it will preserve and even increase the monopoly power for this company.
The plan claims it will allow consumers to closely monitor usage and adjust consumption accordingly, based on a complex rate structure that will change at different times of the day. However, I believe the average consumer will find this system quite confusing, and at the end ComEd will effectively manage to generate extra revenue from the plan.
Spending $1.5 billion dollars on the smart grid technology is like spending on a very expensive anti-thieve equipment for an old vehicle. Instead of spending valuable resources on an old system, that is already outdated and unreliable, legislators in Illinois should promote alternative sources of energy, to create competition, which is something that legislators in California are already exploring.
In essence, the Smart Grid is only a smart strategy for ComEd, but is not a smart option for residents in Illinois, and is not a smart plan for our regional economic development.