ComEd Opens Satellite Sites to Help Continue Administering Financial Assistance Amid Social Services Shut Down

ComEd today announced it has activated its plan to help continue administering its CARE programs, which provides customers in need with financial assistance to pay their electric bills. As a result of state budget issues some social services agencies like CEDA, which administered ComEd’s CARE program, have been shut down.

ComEd is opening 11 temporary satellite sites and will host two energy fairs providing customers direct access to ComEd’s financial assistance funds. To help process financial aid applications, the company hired 24 former personnel from the social service agencies.

“We understand financial assistance is critical to customers who struggle to pay their utility bills and we are committed to helping them get access to available CARE funds. We currently have about $3 million in available funds and are launching temporary satellite sites and energy fairs, so customers in need have a place to go to apply for this assistance,” said Val Jensen, senior vice president of Customer Operations, ComEd. “The ComEd CARE programs help our most vulnerable customers manage their energy bills and have helped thousands of eligible customers stay on track with their utility bills.”

The satellite locations will open on Monday, July 27 and continue to operate until CARE funds are completely exhausted. ComEd reminds customers in need the utility has funds devoted to helping eligible military families, veterans, and senior citizens, as well as individuals who may have experienced a job loss, illness, disability, or other hardship and are in need of help paying their electric bill. This is the fourth consecutive year in which ComEd has dedicated $10 million in financial assistance funds, and the company is looking to extend this assistance through 2021 under new legislation, known as ComEd’s Future Energy Plan.

CARE Programs

• Residential Special Hardship Program – Eligible ComEd residential customers experiencing a hardship can receive a grant toward their electric bill. Grant amounts may vary.
• CHAMP (ComEd Helps Activated/Veteran Military Personnel) – This program provides bill-payment assistance to deployed members of the military and honorably discharged veterans who have fallen behind on their bill and who reside within ComEd’s northern Illinois service territory. CHAMP offers a package of benefits, including bill payment assistance of up to $1,000 while funds are available, a deferred payment plan, extended payment due dates, exemption from late charges, deposit reduction and budget payment plans.
• Non-Profit Assistance Programs – ComEd extended this program to include all non-profit organizations, including faith-based organizations. This program typically provides a one-time variable grant once every two years of up to $2,000 for 501 (c)(3) non-profit organizations that are experiencing a hardship.

Satellite Sites

For more information on ComEd’s financial assistance programs, including eligibility requirements please visit ComEd.com/CARE or call 1-888-806-CARE (2273) – press option 2.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 7.8 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 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 and YouTube.

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