Energy company ready to safely deliver electricity during heat wave, offers customers tips to safe energy and money
Northern Illinois is anticipating extreme heat exceeding 90 degrees and forecasted summer rainstorms over the coming days. ComEd has been hard at work for the past several months to ensure the company's critical electric infrastructure is prepared to handle increased demand during times of prolonged higher temperatures. This proactive effort also includes infrastructure work to strengthen the local energy grid to prevent outages caused by severe summer storms.
With severe weather showing up early and often, and high summer temperatures placing more stress on the electric grid, ComEd has taken steps to ensure reliable energy for the 9 million people it serves in northern Illinois.
"Extreme heat resulting from climate change continues to impact our service territory, but we are ready to meet those challenges," said Terence Donnelley, president and COO of ComEd. "The investments we are making to modernize the power grid are increasing our resilience to severe weather like heat waves."
System investments continue to keep the grid reliable
ComEd has a variety of programs and processes in place to protect against the impacts of severe weather, including Distribution Automation, a technology that has helped ComEd avoid more than 15 million customer outages; light detection and ranging, or Lidar, which helps to identify trees that might be more susceptible to the effects of climate change; and an outage prediction tool that uses analytics from system data to map out effective preventative maintenance.
Last year, investments in the power grid continued to pay reliability dividends for ComEd customers as the electric company delivered record reliability. Since grid improvements began in 2011, overall reliability has improved more than 80 percent. In that time, ComEd has avoided more than 19 million power outages for customers, saving more than $3.3 billion in outage-related costs. In 2022, ComEd had its best reliability on record.
Energy efficiency tips for hot weather
The projected weather system will bring a period of high heat and humidity. ComEd offers the following tips for customers to manage their energy usage, while saving money on their electric bills, during the heat:
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Clear area around cooling vents
- Furniture, carpets, and other objects can block vents and prevent air from traveling. This blockage makes your cooling system work harder and prevents rooms from cooling down quickly.
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Use your windows to keep out heat
- Install window coverings to prevent heat from getting in through your windows during the day.
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Operate your thermostat efficiently
- During the summer season, set your thermostat to as high a temperature as possible while still maintaining personal comfort.
- If you're not home for more than 8 hours, consider turning up your thermostat 7 to 10 degrees.
- Overnight, consider turning up your thermostat 3 to 4 degrees while sleeping.
- Smart thermostats can help you monitor and control your home's temperature—saving you energy and money whether you are at home or away.
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Use fans and ventilation to cool your home
- If you use air conditioning to cool your home, a ceiling fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting approximately 4 degrees with no reduction in comfort.
- Turn off ceiling fans when you leave the room. Remember that fans cool people, not rooms, by creating a wind chill effect.
- During the warmer-temperature months, set your fans counter-clockwise to push air towards the floor.
Recent studies indicate that by 2050, temperatures in northern Illinois will rise and the summer will get increasingly humid. ComEd is taking steps to build infrastructure that is more resilient to the climate changes that pose growing risks to the grid.
Storm Safety
While ComEd works to prevent as many outages as possible, severe storms can cause damage and power outages. ComEd urges customers to contact the company immediately if they experience a power outage. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report an outage and receive restoration information and can follow the company on Twitter @ComEd or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ComEd. Customers can also call 1-800 EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or report outages via the website at ComEd.com/report. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).
ComEd's mobile app for iPhone and Android® smart phones gives customers the ability to report power outages and manage their accounts; download the app at ComEd.com/app.
ComEd's interactive outage map at ComEd.com/map allows customers to easily find information on the location and size of outages and get estimated power restoration times.
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.
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