CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ComEd today joined with regional and municipal leaders to unveil its latest programs designed to accelerate the adoption of electrified technologies, including electric vehicles (EVs), in northern Illinois. As part of ComEd’s $231 million investment in new customer programs geared toward removing barriers to electrification, ComEd today announced a new EV Charging Delivery Rate option to incentivize the buildout of an expanded network of EV charging infrastructure to meet a growing need in the northern Illinois region.
Additionally, ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC) announced the expansion of a unique program helping local governments shape plans for EV adoption. The EV Readiness program welcomes 15 new communities to work together to develop policies and programs to safely integrate EVs and EV charging programs in their communities.
Together, ComEd’s investments and partnerships to enable the electrification of transportation, buildings and industry will play a key role in addressing the impacts of climate change and enhancing air quality for all communities and advance the goals of the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which sets a goal of putting 1 million EVs on Illinois roads by 2030.
“ComEd is committed to helping more residential and business customers transition to zero emissions technologies needed to build a cleaner, more resilient future for all,” said ComEd CEO Gil C. Quiniones. “Working in collaboration with state, municipal and regional partners, ComEd is offering new programs to help remove barriers to going electric at home, on the road and at work – with a special focus on underserved communities that have been hit hardest by carbon emissions.”
EVs are on the rise in Illinois, with nearly 70,000 registered with the state today, and more being registered every month. The development of adequate EV charging infrastructure is essential to supporting customers in making the transition to an EV and reducing range anxiety. Thousands more chargers will be needed in the years ahead to support new state goals for expanding EVs, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimating between 18,000-36,000 additional fast charging stations needed statewide.
NEW COMMERCIAL RATE OPTION
To accelerate investment in charging infrastructure, ComEd is now offering an EV Charging Delivery Rate option. This new rate option is available to all nonresidential customers with EV charging and provides them with a cost-effective alternative to demand-based delivery rates. This will help business customers that are expected to have low charger utilization in the near term as the electrification efforts continue to grow in northern Illinois. All nonresidential customers are eligible, including: public sector, businesses, mass transit agencies, and other commercial categories.
“As we move towards developing a new fueling infrastructure for the state – the utility role will only become more critical. ComEd’s new rate options will complement the state’s investment in charging infrastructure and help create an expansive public charging network in Illinois,” said Megha Lakhchaura, State of Illinois EV Officer. “We hope to see continued initiatives from ComEd that align with the state’s attempts to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and fight climate change.”
“To date, ChargePoint has helped our customers in Illinois deploy thousands of public and private charging stations — and these new programs will allow us to expedite that work in the coming years,” said Matthew Deal, Senior Manager of Regulatory Policy, ChargePoint. “ComEd’s programs will lower the cost of operating EV charging stations while helping finance the actual deployment of this critical infrastructure.”
The transition to electric technologies, including EVs, offers customers a way to lower their carbon footprint while at the same enhancing air quality across our communities. ComEd’s new investments in electrification are projected to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 400,000 metric tons over the life of the plan, the equivalent of the amount of carbon sequestered by approximately 500,000 acres of U.S. forests in one year.
“This plan is clear evidence ComEd listened carefully and got the message loud and clear, communities like ours and towns and villages across Illinois need help if we expect to accelerate the transition to beneficial electrification and meet the state’s climate change goals,” said Billy Davis, Co-Founder, General Manager, JitneyEV, LLC. “These customer-focused programs and incentives go a long way to helping us get there.”
Additional customer programs to incentivize and accelerate the adoption of EVs and other electrified technologies will be rolled out in coming months as part of ComEd’s three-year, $231 million investment. These programs, which include new rebates, make-ready infrastructure support, and pilot studies, are designed to support a transition to cleaner technologies and were informed by feedback gathered last year from hundreds of participants representing communities, health advocacy, industry, local business, school districts and other customer groups across the service region.
“Commercial EV rates and make-ready programs are both market accelerants for transportation electrification,” said Sara Rafalson, SVP of Market Development, Public Policy, and External affairs for EVgo. “Through the Beneficial Electrification Plan, ComEd has laid the foundation to rapidly grow third-party investments in public charging. We look forward to growing our fast charging footprint in ComEd's service territory over the coming years to serve EV drivers across Chicagoland and Northern Illinois."
EV READINESS PROGRAM FOR GOVERNMENTS
ComEd and MMC today also announced its continued investment in the EV Readiness program, a collaboration with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, launched to help local governments prepare to meet the growing demand for EVs and EV charging infrastructure. ComEd’s renewed support for the program will also serve a second cohort of communities set to participate in the program, announced today. These include:
- Batavia
- Bensenville
- Berwyn
- DuPage County
- Elgin
- Evanston
- Hickory Hills
- Highland Park
- Montgomery
- Northbrook
- Park Forest
- Peotone
- River Forest
- Wilmette
- Woodstock
“ComEd’s investments in electrification have been essential as community leaders move to reach new climate goals, navigate funding opportunities, and adopt local policies that will make EV integration safe and equitable for the residents and businesses they serve,” said Kevin Burns, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Environment Committee and Energy Subcommittee Chairman. “We are thrilled to welcome a second cohort of communities committed to achieving EV readiness through this program, and thank ComEd for its continued partnership in helping communities meet new demand for EV access, and the environmental benefits that comes with it.”
The EV Readiness program kicked off last year, working with a diverse cohort of 16 communities to support safe and effective plans for regional transportation electrification. In addition to developing local plans, participation in the program has also helped position communities for competitive funding opportunities designed to support electrification.
ComEd’s investments to support EV adoption align with its proposals filed with regulators earlier this year to enable the power grid to support the increasing number of EVs and solar resources while ensuring continued resiliency in the face of more severe and frequent weather events. ComEd’s proposed plans will build on ComEd’s record-setting reliability performance, ensuring the benefits of the clean energy transformation in Illinois are shared equitably by ComEd customers, while balancing affordability.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 250 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. 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, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.