ComEd withdraws $500M offer for rate guarantee

Posted May 5, 2010 at 5:39 p.m.

By Julie Wernau | Commonwealth
Edison Co. and Exelon said Wednesday afternoon they have decided not to
pursue a last-minute proposal this week in which the company was
offering $500 million in cash to state to fill a budget hole in
exchange for guaranteed future profits on electrical rates.

ComEd and its parent company, Exelon, also offered a pledge to commit
$1 billion during the next decade to projects that they estimated would
create 2,000 new “green” jobs in the state.


“It would have provided funds to a state in turmoil, provided more than 2,000 jobs, invested more than a billion dollars in grid modernization and infrastructure improvements. It also would have provided customers with rate stability while preserving the right to choose market-based rates. No customer would have been required to pay above-market rates,” ComEd said in a statement. “In last few days, however, it has become clear that there is not enough support in Springfield to continue pursuing this course. We acknowledge and respect the concerns many public officials have and will move on.”

The proposal, which was reported in news media Tuesday after a copy of the still not-public proposal was obtained by the news organizations including the Tribune, faced opposition from several groups, including that of the state attorney general

 

17 comments:

  1. Joe1 May 5, 2010 at 6:12 pm

    you can call it what it is. its still a bribe! Gotta make those stock options for Da Boyz good so they can rake in millions at the tax payer expense.

  2. rolling eyes May 5, 2010 at 6:34 pm

    Do they think we’re stupid??? Yah, move on, Exelon. Maybe you can put up a sign at Wrigley Field.

  3. jack (the real one) May 5, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    When there was a radio report that Quinn was thinking about accepting it (despite his only claim to fame being that he was behind CUB), you know it was going off the table.
    Joe1, it may be a bribe, but I’m sure that the state taking it would be prostitution.

  4. 1911A1 May 5, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    The best thing Illinois has ever done for me is convincing me that I need to move to another state.

  5. Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe May 5, 2010 at 7:39 pm

    Good. Scheming bastards. As if that amount could even put a dent in the deficit. They think we are all stupid!

  6. newsjunkie May 5, 2010 at 8:34 pm

    Yeah, damn right ComEd to back off this one! You think we’re stupid? Bribe the state with 500 mil so you can screw the consumers over for the next five years? FU!

  7. lkerh May 5, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    I don’t get a lot of the kneejerk comments here. The utilities aren’t a charity. Would we rather have the State take them over? If you think rates are too high now, think about the waste, bribery and disrepair if the State were allowed to run them. Hell, the governor would probably leverage the utilities into bankruptcy to dent the deficit since there’s no more blood to squeeze from the turnip, er, I mean state pension.

  8. joe1 May 5, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    do your homework and see what the price of nat gas is bro. Real real low. Thats why they want it. they dont have natural pricing power.

  9. bob from evanston May 5, 2010 at 11:33 pm

    The fly in Edison’s ointment is this: if they have all that money lying around, shouldn’t they pass it on to their shareholders? or refund it to customers? or put it to work on new and better facilities?
    Some years back some Ameritech managers got caught using company pension money to buy Kim Basinger’s home town, a tiny burg down south, as a supposed investment. She was going to fix the place up, you see.
    Utility money ought to stay in the utility business.

  10. brm May 5, 2010 at 11:48 pm

    They pulled the offer for one reason only, they are going to say the oil spill in the gulf is creating higher prices for them and they will charge higher prices to you. I bet they have record profits over the next five years.

  11. polar bear May 5, 2010 at 11:50 pm

    Hey 1911A1, you lost me at your weather comment. I LOVE Chicago weather!!

  12. Madoff May 6, 2010 at 9:14 a.m.

    Hey all you naive numbnut liberals – Newsflash: There is no Main Street, without Wall Street! Obama Lied, America Died!!

  13. jaxon May 6, 2010 at 9:55 a.m.

    Incredible! Only in Illinois would such a proposal even be floated. This was the epitome of loan sharking, but then we are original mobster state.

  14. Squinty Magoo May 6, 2010 at 9:59 a.m.

    Since only the Illinois Commerce Commission can set utility rates, this proposal was a non-starter anyway. Edison tried once before to get the legislature to set rates and was slapped down by the courts.

  15. bob May 7, 2010 at 8:31 a.m.

    This was a bribe ,but they tried to do it legally thru the normal way to get their increase, they could have lined the pockets of madigan and his tottes first to get there increase

  16. Raphael Altmark May 7, 2010 at 11:24 a.m.

    Selling gift certificates is one way contented customers can pass on your identify to their acquaintances and dear ones, instituting a referral program is another means. In that case, you postulate fulfilled customers to pass on your occupation cards. If a friend or household member comes in and refers their name, that client gets some form of appreciation from you: a courteous thank you card, a price reduction on their future engagement, or an extra 15 minutes when you have time!

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