Newest ComEd Program Provides Bill Assistance To Struggling Small Businesses During Pandemic

Press release from the Commonwealth Edison Company :

With many restaurants, bars, retailers and other small businesses across northern Illinois struggling to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic, ComEd today announced a new bill-assistance program to help eligible small businesses facing financial difficulties.

"Small and family-owned businesses are the backbone of our communities. When they struggle, our neighborhoods struggle." said ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez. "By offering a new bill-assistance option targeting small and family-owned businesses, we hope to do our part to ensure that the businesses that we all love and depend upon continue to be a part of our lives."

ComEd's Small Business Assistance Program provides eligible small-business customers that are past due on their energy bills with a one-time grant equal to 30 percent of their total ComEd balance (up to $1,000) for a limited time. Customers whose electric service has not been disconnected can then set up their remaining balance due on a payment plan of up to six months.

Small-business customers can visit ComEd.com/SmallBizAssistance or call 1-877-4-COMED-1 (1-877-426-6331) to learn more or apply for the Small Business Assistance Program.

Earlier this week, ComEd announced its new Helping Hand program to provide more immediate aid to eligible residential customers most in need during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For a limited time, this financial-assistance program provides an additional one-time grant of up to $300 to help reduce past-due balances of income-eligible customers.

Assistance through the Helping Hand program is administered directly through ComEd, which expedites the verification process so that customers can receive grants more quickly. Residential customers can apply for Helping Hand grants at ComEd.com/PaymentAssistance.

Assistance Options to Help Residential Customers

Helping Hand and the Small Business Assistance Program are the latest in a number of assistance options ComEd has developed since the pandemic to help customers, including a $18 million bill-payment assistance program for residential customers announced earlier this summer.

ComEd has continued the suspension of service disconnections for low-income customers and those who express a financial hardship through March 31, 2021. For other customers, it's important that they continue to stay current to avoid higher past-due balances into the spring that will be harder to address.

ComEd's bill-assistance programs also include flexible payment options, financial assistance for past-due balances and usage alerts for current bills. Any customer who is experiencing a hardship or difficulty with their electric bill should call ComEd immediately at 1-800-334-7661 (1-800-EDISON-1), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to learn more and enroll in a program.

ComEd also offers usage alerts and energy-management tips to help customers manage energy use to save money now and on future energy bills. For information, visit ComEd.com/OnlineTools.

This press release was produced by the Commonwealth Edison Company (Electric). The views expressed here are the author’s own.