Dive Summary:

• For the first time, ComEd will have to pay for customers' financial losses due to outages.
• Wednesday, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) voted 5-0 Wednesday to make ComEd pay for financial damages that outages caused to customers and towns. The decision may cost ComEd $35 million in claims and litigations.
• The ruling follows two years of testimony related to six storms in 2011 that left many ComEd customers without power. ComEd will have to reimburse consumers for spoiled groceries and pay municipalities for expenses related to overtime pay for emergency responders.

From the article:
“In towns with downed wires, non-functioning traffic signals and fire hazards, municipalities paid a premium in overtime for police and fire firefighters who directed traffic around ComEd equipment.”