ComEd Announces Upcoming Low-Income Discount as Latest Program to Assist with Rising Energy Costs

Newest affordability measure offers income-eligible customers percentage-based discounts on monthly electric bills

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ComEd has announced the upcoming launch of its Low-Income Discount (LID) program as part of efforts to help customers manage increasing energy costs. The LID program, available Jan. 1, 2026, is intended to provide qualifying income-eligible customers with a percentage-based discount on their monthly electric bill based on income level.

LID is created in alignment with the Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and is part of ComEd’s commitment to affordability and customer support. With energy costs increasing up to 15% for the average residential customer, the aim of LID is to offer bill relief to income-eligible customers to help make energy costs more manageable.

“The launch of ComEd’s LID comes at a time when customers are feeling the burden of this past year’s bill increases,” said Gil Quiniones, President and CEO of ComEd. “This new program brings long term relief for those who can least afford to pay, and it will help them afford service as energy costs continue to rise.”

Discounts under ComEd’s LID will be divided into five tiers to give the greatest savings to those most in need. This system is designed to reduce the energy burden for these individuals to 3–6% of household income. Bill savings per customer will be based on average use within a residential service delivery class and will vary by income tier.

“ComEd understands that rising energy costs affect many of the 9 million people we serve in northern Illinois territory. That’s why we constantly look to enhance solutions for customers who are behind or at risk of falling behind on their energy bills,” said Ajit Apte, Senior Vice President, Customer Operations, ComEd. “Since October 2024, customers have been pre-approved for LID by visiting local action agencies (LAAs) across Illinois and applying for and receiving state energy assistance programming, like LIHEAP and PIPP.”

Today’s announcement was hosted by the Community Action Partnership of Lake County which is one of the many LAAs across Illinois that administer LIHEAP.

“Over the decades, Community Action Partnership of Lake County has collaborated with ComEd to ensure that income-eligible customers receive electricity bill payment assistance through LIHEAP and other energy cost savings programs,” said Mary Lockhart White, Executive Director & CEO of Community Action Partnership of Lake County. “We encourage every eligible household to take advantage of this new Low-Income Discount program opportunity.”

For ComEd customers to be approved for one of the first four tiers of LID, they must also have been approved for LIHEAP dating back to October 2024. For customers who haven’t enrolled in LIHEAP, ComEd encourages them to visit their LAA to begin the enrollment process for LIHEAP and/or LID.

Customers with incomes up to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (those who do not qualify for LIHEAP) are still eligible to participate in LID. These customers can enroll by visiting their local LAA now or, starting Jan. 1, 2026, self-enrolling through ComEd’s Smart Assistance Manager tool at ComEd.com/SAM.

Upon qualifying, customers will receive LID for up to 24 months, based on their enrollment date, without the need to reapply. Those approved for LID will see a line item on their ComEd bill labeled “Low-Income Discount” as early as January 2026.

“Families are facing affordability issues for everyday essentials, from groceries to electricity bills. That's why we, as leaders with Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) and POWER-PAC IL, organized around the creation of the Low-Income Discount program and are excited for the relief it will give eligible ComEd customers,” said Michelle Morton, a Parent Leader with COFI and POWER-PAC IL. “Having this discount means families and neighbors in my community will have some extra cash to help them cover the rising costs of food, rent, and more. We urge all electricity utilities within the State of Illinois, regardless of size, to take note and implement programs like this that help families keep the lights on in their homes.”

For more information about ComEd’s Low-Income Discount program, visit ComEd.com/LID.

ComEd’s other customer support programs

LID is ComEd’s latest program to provide relief to customers with past-due balances and help them manage energy use to save money on future bills. Earlier this year, in anticipation of rising energy bills, ComEd launched a $10 million Customer Relief Fund which, when fully disbursed, is projected to support more than 30,000 customers who are behind in their energy bills.

So far this year, ComEd has helped connect nearly 190,000 customers to more than $94 million in financial assistance and other relief, along with helping hundreds of thousands of customers save more than $12 billion on their electric bills since 2008 through the award-winning ComEd Energy Efficiency Program. For information about all of ComEd’s bill-support programs, visit ComEd.com/PaymentAssistance.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 company and one of the nation’s largest utility companies, serving more than 10.7 million electricity and natural gas customers. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

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Source: ComEd