ComEd Ready for Summer

107 projects completed in Chicago to prepare the system for summer

$11 million in rate relief credits issued to more than 240,000 customers

    CHICAGO, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- ComEd officials today informed the
 Chicago City Council Committee on Environmental Protection, Energy and
 Public Utilities at its annual summer readiness briefing that the company
 is well positioned to meet summer electricity demand.
     ComEd President J. Barry Mitchell confirmed ComEd has sufficient
 resources in place to meet customer demand and fulfill its 15 percent
 reserve margin requirement under the PJM Regional Transmission
 Organization, which manages the electricity grid in all or parts of 13
 states and the District of Columbia. Mitchell expects peak demand for
 electricity this summer could reach 23,525 megawatts (MW), less than last
 summer's all-time record of 23,613 MW set Aug. 1, 2006. One MW powers
 approximately 300 homes equipped with air conditioning and modern
 appliances.
     "ComEd is prepared both in terms of energy supply and system
 reliability," Mitchell said. "Our system performed outstanding during last
 year's record period, and we are poised as always to meet customer needs --
 even on the hottest days."
     The company also has provided more than 240,000 customers with about
 $11 million of relief in the form of bill credits just in time for summer.
 Of the $11 million, $4.8 million has gone to Chicago residents. By month's
 end, the company expects to issue $15.5 million in credits to more than
 400,000 customers.
     The funding is part of ComEd's three-year, $64 million Rate Relief and
 Assistant Initiative for customers most in need. In an effort to help
 offset summer cooling costs, credits ranging from $30 to $240 are being
 applied to customers' accounts. By the end of this year, ComEd will be
 providing $44 million in assistance through this relief package.
     ComEd continues to invest in its infrastructure to enhance reliability
 and meet growing customer demand. Since 2000, ComEd has invested about $4.7
 billion to enhance its electric distribution system throughout the northern
 Illinois service territory -- with $264.4 million invested in 2006. This
 includes improvements to the Chicago system, in which 72 percent of Chicago
 residents experienced one outage, or none at all, over the past 12 months.
 There also were 14 days in 2006 when not a single customer in the city
 experienced a planned or unexpected outage.
     "We performed 107 summer critical projects in Chicago to bolster
 reliability and system capacity ahead of the coming summer," Mitchell said.
 "In addition to installing new distribution lines and extending existing
 lines, we conducted numerous drills and carried out preventive and
 corrective maintenance to prepare our personnel and equipment for the
 coming summer."
     In 2006, Chicago customers averaged just over one outage (1.09 outage
 per customer per year). The average duration of these interruptions was 150
 minutes. This performance was achieved despite a very hot summer during
 which ComEd's peak load record was broken on three occasions: July 17-23
 (23,302 MW), July 31-23, (23,602 MW) and Aug. 1 (23,613 MW).
     "Despite the heat and record-setting demand, outage frequency and
 duration would have been better had it not been for last October's
 devastating storms," said Mitchell, referring to the second-most powerful
 storm to affect Chicago since 1998. Without the October storms, outage
 duration in Chicago would have been 86 minutes, a 19 percent improvement
 over its five-year average.
     Mitchell also gave the committee an update regarding ComEd's ongoing
 community commitments, environmental initiatives and civic activities. The
 company has spent more than $350 million since 1999 to develop renewable
 energy resources and invested more than $12 million in more than 50 solar
 installations throughout Chicago. The city now hosts 2 MW of solar
 generation, representing 60 percent of all solar energy in Illinois.
     Non-profit organizations, schools, museums and performing arts
 organizations also received more than $5 million from ComEd to help enrich
 the lives of Chicagoans in 2006.
     "We had another successful year in 2006," Mitchell said. "Our system,
 our people and our partnerships are expanding our ability to serve, and
 we're look forward to the future.
     "Like many Chicagoans, we see the possibility of hosting the 2016
 Olympics as a major event in the city's history. We look forward to
 promoting the city's candidacy, and in preparing Chicago to host the world,
 by ensuring reliable service at every home, business or venue -- new or
 existing."
     Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon
 Corporation ( EXC), one of the nation's largest electric utilities
 with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to
 approximately 3.8 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent
 of the state's population.
 
 

SOURCE ComEd