Hundreds Left Without Power For a Brief Time Sunday

Over one thousand people were without power for a brief time on Easter Sunday in Tinley Park and Orland Hills.

Update, 3:45 p.m. - The outage is now down to 133 ComEd customers and crews are working to restore power, according to ComEd. The outage appears to be attributed to an "equipment problem." Original Story Over 1,500 people are without power Easter Sunday as ComEd works to determine a cause of the outage.  The outage is in the area of 167th Street and 84th Avenue and is currently affecting 1,520 people as of 2:30 p.m., according to the ComEd outage map. The outage is currently listed as being "under investigation." Another outage is also reported in Frankfort near 211th and Harlem Avenue due to a downed power line, according to ComEd. Crews are currently at work on that outage where 42 customers are without power.   Follow us on Facebook: …

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Orland to Spend $1.13 Million on La Grange Widening Prep

This will make over $3 million dollars total invested in power line burial by the village of Orland Park.

Orland Park plans on spending an additional $1.13 million to bury power lines largely between 144th Street and 147th Street in preparation of the La Grange Road widening project, the Chicago Tribune reports. This expenditure adds to the $1.97 million already spent burying lines between Southwest Highway and 144th Place. "We always intended to do up to 147th," Public Works and Engineering Chairman Ed Schussler told the Tribune. "It's just that with the last project, it made more sense to stop at 144th Place." Many of the overhead lines would have been relocated at no additional cost by ComEd, but village officials opted to spend the extra money for aesthetic and practical reasons. "We feel it makes the community more attractive, and you …

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Patch on Politics

ComEd Wants You to Pay More for Electricity You Used Last Year

The utility wants lawmakers to amend a 2011 rate-hike law to allow the utility to retroactively collect money for electricity already used.

 The Illinois Senate Executive Committee unanimously approved a request by ComEd and Ameren to "clarify" a 2011 law that allowed the utilities to raise electricity rates, Illinois Public Radio reports. The clarification would allow the power companies to retroactively charge higher rates for the electricity you've already used, potentially raising up to $70 million for ComEd, according to Sun-Times Media. The 2011 law changed the formula used to determine charges. But the utilities say it didn't work as intended. They say regulators aren't letting them charge what they need. Now the companies are back, asking the legislature to pass another law, clarifying the old one.  (Says) ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore: "Without it we are stalled in these…

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Tom S

9:42 pm on Sunday, February 17, 2013

Under the Smart Grid law passed in 2011, ComEd committed to spend $2.6 billion over 10 years to modernize the electric grid in Northern Illinois. The ICC's interpretation of the law reduced funding to complete the modernization program. As a result, ComEd faced a reduction in funding of nearly $100 million per year in 2014 and beyond. Without the additional funding, ComEd stated it could not …   more ›

About 267 Orland Park Residents Without Power

ComEd is estimating that homes without power should be back up and running by around 8:30 p.m. after three outages Monday evening.

Update, 10:25 p.m., Monday, June 25: ComEd is still working to restore power to 220 homes near Poplar Road, and 47 homes near Lakeview drive, as of Monday night. Damaged power lines are thought to be the cause. Update, 8:15 p.m., Monday, June 25: The outage near Terry Drive, north of 143rd Street, has been handled and power is restored, according to ComEd. Crews are still working on two other outages. One outage involves 323 homes near Poplar Road, south of 147th Street, and the other involves 47 homes near Lakeview Drive, north of 151st Street. Early indicators point to downed power lines. Original Post: Orland Park residents near 143rd Street and 88th Avenue, as well as some near Lakeview Drive north of 151st Street have lost power …

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Orland Park’s New Electricity Supplier Is Picked, Now What?

Patch breaks down the new energy supplier deal for Orland Park residents and small business owners, and what happens between now and the new supplier plugs in.

Orland Park picked an electricity supplier for its residents and small commercial buildings, and the savings should be seen on August bills, according to the village. Orland Park chose Nordic Energy Services to provide the village’s juice, after a 3-3 tie vote among village board trustees, where Mayor Dan McLaughlin placed the final deciding vote at the May 7 board meeting. Nordic offered a supplying rate of 4.82 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to First Energy Corp. who offered 4.79 cents. That compares to the 7.73 cents paid by Orland Parkers with ComEd now supplying. Those who favored Nordic preferred that they are an Illinois-based company, while others liked Ohio-based First Energy’s greater experience in the supplying realm compared…

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Orland Park Looking for a Better Deal on Electricity

Village board will consider a referendum on opening a search for the best rate for power.

The Orland Park Village Board will soon consider asking its residents whether they want the village to open up a search for possibly better prices on energy. Village staff proposed Monday night putting a referendum on the March 2012 primary ballot asking residents whether the village should establish a municipal electrical aggregation program, in order to see if another electricity vendor might give home and business owners a better rate. A new state law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010 allows municipalities to aggregate energy users – including homes and businesses – and pursue a provider other than ComEd. Should the referendum pass, but the village doesn’t find a better deal on electricity, then they will simply continue with ComEd…

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ComEd Customers Used All-Time Power High During Heat Wave

Between the heat wave and the intense storms the Southland has experienced this summer, the last few weeks have been busy for ComEd.

Southland citizens had a rough time trying to cool down during last week's heat wave. Just how hot was it?  "Customers were using an all-time high of power," said ComEd spokeswoman Arlana Johnson. "It is the most power used at one time since August 2006." According to a ComEd press release, customer demand reached an a peak usage milestone late Wednesday afternoon. However, according to Johnson, this intense usage has yet to negatively impact the ComEd power grid. “Our system is performing really well and we didn't experience any issues," said Johnson. "We put extra crews on notice in case there were any problems. We had 350 crews available, which is 100 more than on a typical summer day." According to Johnson, a far bigger issue is the …

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Larry

12:06 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2011

Ambit Energy has a fixed rate plan at 6.9/kWh or a month to month plan at 7.2/kWh and also a Certified Green plan. They offer a monthly budget plan for those who choose that option. Unlike some other suppliers Ambit Energy is based in the United States and thats where I would like to keep my money invested. http://www.swasso.joinambit.com   more ›

71,000 ComEd Customers Left in the Dark in Southern Cook County

Storm of the decade knocks out power to over 578,000 customers in Illinois.

One of the worst storms in the past decade blew into the Chicago region early Monday morning knocking out power to over 578,000 customers in the city and suburbs. More than 71,000 in ComEd’s South Region – encompassing southern Cook County and the Joliet region – are in the dark after 80mph wind gusts and lightning strikes knocked down power lines and trees. In the Crestwood region, including Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Palos and Orland Park, between 3,000 and 10,000 customers remain without power according to the ComEd's outage map. In the Joliet region, including Tinley Park, over 10,000 customers were in the dark on Monday afternoon. Alicia Zatkowski, a spokeswoman for ComEd, said it may be several days before power is …

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Commerce Judge Recommends 3% Rate Hike for ComEd

Meanwhile, some area suburbs are seeking bids to aggregate electricity for residents in the hope of lowering costs.

As some Chicago suburbs are seeking cheaper, aggregated electricity rates for residents, the current option for many, ComEd, is hoping to hike its rates three percent and get an annual increase. Crain's Chicago Business reported Wednesday that an administrative law judge for the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is recommending granting ComEd a $166 million increase in the rates it charges to deliver electricity to Northern Illinois homes and businesses, which is about three percent. That's about half ComEd's revised request of $326 million, but well over the $103 million recommended by the ICC staff. The commission must vote on ComEd's request by May 24, and Crain's reports that some see it as good news for its parent company, Excelon …

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ComEd: 29 Orland Park Residents Still Without Power

Construction near the 143rd Street Metra station Wednesday afternoon left over 600 homes without power Wednesday afternoon.

Power was restored to over 600 homes in Orland Park after a line was struck Wednesday afternoon, though 29 homes were still without electricity around 5 p.m. Construction crews were working to transfer overhead Comcast and AT&T lines underground near the 143rd Street Metra Station Wednesday afternoon, Orland Park Spokesperson Patty Vlazny said. A ComEd underground power line was struck while the crews were digging around 1:15 p.m. Initially, 678 Orland Park ComEd customers were without power, said Tony Hernandez, spokesperson for ComEd. Traffic lights down LaGrange Road were out of service. “By 3 p.m. power was restored to about 99 percent of the people who lost it,” Vlazny said. As of 5 p.m., at least 29 customers were still without power…

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