ComEd system reliability continues to deliver strong results

CHICAGO, May 5 — ComEd announced that its power system reliability in 2014 was the company’s second best on record, second only to the company’s 2013 performance, which was the best in company history with the fewest customer interruptions.

The strength of the electrical system has benefited hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses throughout northern Illinois. The expansion of the Smart Grid, infrastructure upgrades, including storm response enhancements, and committed ComEd employees are credited with the performance improvements.

Delivering safe, reliable electricity is essential to Illinois’ economic growth. With passage of the Electric Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA) in 2011, ComEd embarked on a 10-year, $2.6 billion program to modernize the power system in northern Illinois. The investments have, and will continue to, enhance reliability and serve as an asset to businesses that value a modern, digital-based smart grid.

In addition to helping to avoid 1.2 million customer interruptions in 2014, EIMA work has supported 3,600 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in Illinois, including approximately 1,400 FTE jobs at the utility and its contractors. Since 2012, there have been more than 3.3 million avoided customer interruptions from smart switches. EIMA investments since 2012 have resulted in more than one million avoided customer outages and an estimated $175 million in societal savings.

“Our continuous efforts to improve reliability are proof of our commitment to providing our customers with reliable, high-quality service,” said Anne Pramaggiore, president and chief executive officer of ComEd. “The investments we’ve made — and continue to make — in the Smart Grid are paying off with improved reliability, access to cutting edge energy technology and jobs.”

ComEd is among the top 10 percent nationally for electric reliability for commercial and industrial, based on benchmarking with peer utilities.

“ComEd’s continued infrastructure investment aimed at modernizing and bringing innovative digital equipment to the grid is an important component to sustaining Illinois’ economic growth,” said Todd Maisch, President and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “We are pleased to see consecutive years of strong performance which provides business leaders the assurance that Illinois is the right place for their continued growth and investment.”

ComEd recognizes that strong power reliability and Illinois’ competitive electricity supply market are key attributes why businesses continue to commit to building facilities in our northern Illinois service territory. This is evidenced in the collective 2014 results of ComEd’s economic development allies which supported the announcement of 22,000 jobs, 23 million square feet in facilities, and $3 billion in capital investment.

ABOUT COMED
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 6.6 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population.