Commercial Energy Management in the Chicago Metro
Chicago Metro is ComEd territory inside PJM — ComEd transmission zone. ComEd delivers the power and maintains the wires whoever supplies it, so competitive supply carries no reliability consequence — only a lower price.
How Energy Buying Works in Chicago Metro
ComEd serves Chicago and the surrounding counties in PJM's ComEd zone, and the retail market here is the most competitive in the Midwest — a Chicago commercial account of almost any size will attract multiple genuine offers. Two things distinguish ComEd from other PJM utilities. First, delivery classes are assigned by demand and reassignment lags actual usage, so an account that has grown or shrunk is frequently on the wrong one. Second, ComEd's capacity obligation is set annually from your peak load contribution during a handful of summer hours — meaning a building that manages five afternoons well pays less all year.
Illinois opened to competition in 1997, but the terms are set territory by territory, not statewide. ComEd's distribution rates, its default supply price and its rate schedules are all set independently of the other utilities in Illinois — which is why an offer that is genuinely competitive in one part of the state can be mediocre here. Everything on this page is scoped to ComEd specifically.
ComEd Commercial Rates
Which schedule you are on sets the shape of the bill before a single kilowatt-hour is priced.
| Schedule | Typically covers |
|---|---|
| Watt-Hour Delivery Class | the smallest commercial accounts |
| Small Load Delivery Class | accounts under 100 kW |
| Medium Load Delivery Class | roughly 100 to 400 kW |
| Large Load Delivery Class | above 400 kW, with demand-based delivery |
Schedule names, demand thresholds and eligibility rules change with each rate case, and the schedule an account was originally placed on is frequently no longer the one that fits it. We verify yours against the actual bill rather than assuming — that check is free, and it is where a meaningful share of the savings on this page comes from.
Energy Management by Industry in Chicago Metro
Commercial real estate, financial services, food production, healthcare and rail logistics dominate commercial load here. Each sector carries a different load shape on ComEd, and the strategy changes with it.
Healthcare · concentrated here
Healthcare facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 800,000+ kWh/month on a constant high load with minimal fluctuation profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Healthcare Energy in Chicago Metro →Property Management · concentrated here
Property Management facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 150,000-600,000 kWh/month on a business hours peak for commercial, evening for residential profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Property Management Energy in Chicago Metro →Food Service · concentrated here
Food Service facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 50,000-200,000 kWh/month on a meal period peaks with constant refrigeration baseload profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Food Service Energy in Chicago Metro →Manufacturing
Manufacturing facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 500,000+ kWh/month on a 24/7 baseload with peak production hours profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Manufacturing Energy in Chicago Metro →Retail
Retail facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 100,000-500,000 kWh/month on a high during business hours, lower overnight profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Retail Energy in Chicago Metro →Hospitality
Hospitality facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 200,000-700,000 kWh/month on a variable based on occupancy and season profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Hospitality Energy in Chicago Metro →Data Centers
Data Centers facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 2,000,000+ kWh/month on a consistent extreme baseload profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Data Centers Energy in Chicago Metro →Education
Education facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 300,000-1,000,000 kWh/month on a academic calendar-driven fluctuations profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Education Energy in Chicago Metro →Warehouse & Logistics
Warehouse & Logistics facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 400,000-1,500,000 kWh/month on a 24/7 operations with shift-based peaks profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Warehouse & Logistics Energy in Chicago Metro →Automotive
Automotive facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 80,000-300,000 kWh/month on a business hours concentration with some 24/7 operations profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Automotive Energy in Chicago Metro →Municipal & Government
Municipal & Government facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 200,000-800,000 kWh/month on a varies widely by facility type profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Municipal & Government Energy in Chicago Metro →Agriculture
Agriculture facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 150,000-600,000 kWh/month on a highly seasonal with weather dependency profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Agriculture Energy in Chicago Metro →Technology
Technology facilities in the Chicago Metro typically run 200,000-800,000 kWh/month on a extended hours with always-on equipment profile, billed on ComEd commercial schedules.
Technology Energy in Chicago Metro →Cities in Chicago Metro
ComEd serves Cook County.
Chicago, IL
A ComEd market with the deepest commercial supplier competition in the Midwest.
Chicago Energy Management →Other Utility Territories
Different utility, different rates. If your facilities span more than one of these, they need more than one strategy.
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Collar Counties
ComEd · PJM ComEd
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Rockford Region
ComEd · PJM ComEd
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Naperville
Naperville Electric · Naperville Electric
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Central Illinois
Ameren Illinois · MISO Zone 4
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Springfield
City Water, Light & Power · CWLP
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