Whether you’re with your default utility or an alternative supplier, at some point, during the month, you’re going to receive a bill.
How do you go about understanding your business’ electric bill?
Let’s break down how to read your ComEd bill:
FRONT OF THE BILL
1. Your rate classification and service address for the account. This rate classification is given to you, by ComEd, based upon how many kilowats you use. ComEd takes the highest amount you use in a month, and that becomes your rate classification. You can be classified as a 0-100, 100-400, 400-1000, 1000-10,000, and >10,000.
Note: ComEd’s fixed price is only available to 0-100 customers.
2. The amount due to ComEd.
3. This chart is a statistical overview of your usage over the last 13 months, in KWH.
4. Pretty self explanatory. It’s the amount of electricity you use in the month, measured by KWH.
5. Electricity supply charge: This is the charge for the amount of electricity you’ve used. When you’re with an alternative supplier, this is what the supplier bills.
6. Delivery charges are charges accrued for the physical transmission of electricity to your location. This is always through ComEd. Alternative suppliers do not cover this cost.
BACK OF THE BILL
1. This is the amount due. Some alternate suppliers bill you on one bill, with your utility. If that’s the case, this will be the absolute total. If your alternative supplier bills separately, then this will only be your utility’s bill, for charges for delivering the electricity to you. You will get a separate bill, from your supplier, for the actual electricity.
2. Service address: This is the address where the electricity is being provided. i.e. your business location. The electric choice id number is your “account number”. In 2024, ComEd switched all prior account numbers to an electric choice id number. If you’re interested in receiving a quote from us, this is the number we need to get your quote.
3. The meter number is your unique meter number. The load type refers to the type of service rendered, either general service or delivery service. The reading type is the rate at which the electricity is used, and it is measured by the highest demand in the billing month.
The meter reading is broken down into two components: actual i.e. the usage data from the meter reading and the estimated usage data, based on the business’ historical usage patterns.
The multiplier x is applied to usage readings for certain kinds of meters to accurately determine usage.
The usage is the difference between previous and present usage readings times the multiplier (measured in kWhs).
4. Charge Details: This is your account’s classification in ComEd. Depending on how many kilowats you use per month, you can be classified as 0-100, 100-400, 400-1000, 1000-10,000, and >10,000.
Note: if you’re classfied as 0-100, you can get ComEd’s fixed price. If you’re classified as larger than that, you can only be on a ComEd variable rate.
5. Supply: This shows who your electricity supplier is. If you’re with an alternative supplier, they will be listed here.
There are four components to the supply charge: an electricity supply charge, which is a charge for electricity provided during the billing period, a transmission services charge, which is a charge for transmission system costs, a purchased electricity adjustment, and a capacity charge.
ComEd bills each four of these, under the supply portion. When you’re priced with an alternative supplier, the fixed price you received has all four components factored it. These components can change every month, so alternative suppliers help protect against those costs.
6. Delivery: This is a charge for the transmission of electricity to your location. This charge will always be on your bill, regardless if you’re with an alternative supplier.
7. Taxes and fees: This is charge will also always be on your bill, regardless if you’re with an alternative supplier. Included in this are the following: an environmental cost recovery adjustment, which is a charge or credit related to the recovery of environmental cleanup costs, a renewable portfolio standard, which is an adjustment, related to electricity generated by renewable energy sources, a zero emission standard, which is an adjustment for energy sources that do not produce carbon dioxide, an energy efficiency program fee, which funds energy efficiency incentives, an energy transition assistance, which is a fee that supports clean energy economic development and job training programs, and finally, a state local tax.
8. Updates: account specific messages and marketing messages from the utility.
Now that you’re a professional on reading your electricity bill, you’re wondering how to save money on it.
Perfect. That’s where we come in. Contact us today through [email protected] or through the form, on our website, to receive a free quote!
[1] From ComEd: https://azure-na-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt3ebb3fed6084be2a/blte5e87fa735d87480/BillImage_CommFront_1200x1100.png
[2] From ComEd: https://azure-na-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt3ebb3fed6084be2a/blt9d427273416961c3/BillImage_CommBack_1200x1100.png
