ComEd To Pay Out $38M In Rebates, $200M Fine For Bribery Scheme

ILLINOIS — Illinois Commonwealth Edison customers will see a small rebate on their bill at some point after the Illinois Commerce Commission approved a plan for the utility company to issue a $38 million rebate in connection with a bribery scheme involving high-powered political players including former House Speaker Mike Madigan.

The Commerce Commission approved the plan this week, but it remains unknown when customers will actually see the rebate. Many feel that the approved amount is too low, which NBC Chicago reported will only figure out to be only about $5 per ComEd customer once the rebate is paid out.

As part of the agreement, ComEd will issue $31 million in rebates directly to customers which is part of paying off the publicized bribery scheme that included Madigan and others who were indicted as part of the scheme. The utility will also pay $7 million in rebates as part of a federal regulatory process, the ICC ruled this week.

The board also ruled that ComEd must pay a $200 million fine in connection with the scheme.

“The quality and value of ComEd’s service to our customers is arguably the best in the nation, but we recognize that delivering excellent performance and value for the dollar is not enough, and we are equally dedicated to earning and maintaining our customers’ trust,” ComEd officials said in a statement this week.

The rebates will be based on individual customers’ electrical usage, but on average, residents can expect to see a rebate totaling an average of $4.80. ComEd had previously offered a rebate of $21 million late last year, but that amount was deemed too small for behavior the utility deemed “unacceptable”, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Some activists, including those from the Chicago-based Citizens Utility Board (CUB) argued that the amount ComEd agreed to pay was not in line with a scheme in which CUB officials said that the utility enriched itself “at the expense of Illinois utility customers.”

CUB filed a federal lawsuit in 2020, which was later dismissed by a judge before the rebate amount was announced. Following the ICC vote this week, CUB expressed its disappointment with the amount ComEd is paying out in the rebate. It also said it plans to refile a re-hearing, which a CUB spokesman said will ask the ICC to reconsider its decision.

"A $38 million refund falls short of the refund recommended by CUB, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, and the City of Chicago. Further, this case was limited to direct costs and only partially compensates customers for ComEd’s misconduct—people deserve better in the wake of Illinois' most significant utility scandal ever," the statement reads. "CUB continues to work on behalf of consumers for full restitution, as well as the most pro-consumer implementation of the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) to protect customers from unjustified rate increases."

ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said in a statement that the $38 million refund “resolves any question of whether customer funds were used in connection with the unacceptable conduct” outlined by federal prosecutors.

He added that the utility is continuing to build upon “significant new policies, oversight, and rigorous employee training … to make sure that the past conduct that drove this refund can never happen again.”