Dive Brief:
- Commonwealth Edison, Illinois' largest utility, must beef up its energy efficiency programs, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).
- The ICC directed ComEd to boost its savings target by 25,000 MWh a year, or 4%, over a proposed plan.
- Even with the ICC's increased target, ComEd will miss the 2% sales cut by mid-2015 as required by state law. The Chicago-based utility expects to cut electric use by 0.7% under its original plan.
Dive Insight:
ComEd faces two major challenges in meeting the state's aggressive efficiency savings goals. First, it has bumped up against a cap on program spending. Second, the utility has harvested the low-hanging fruit, leaving more complex and expensive program options for cutting electric use further.
One possibility will be tapping the smart grid. ComEd has a $2.6 billion smart grid project underway that includes replacing all its old meters with smart meters. The ICC directed ComEd to develop an efficiency plan using its smart grid system.