ComEd Reports to the ICC on 2015 Record Results and Summer Preparedness Strategy
May 26 2016 - 02:13PM
Business Wire
Smart Grid investments and other system
improvements result in a third year of record reliability for ComEd
customers – fewer and shorter power outages
ComEd officials participated today in an important policy
session held by the Illinois Commerce Commission to discuss the
significant improvements made to the electrical delivery system and
utility readiness to meet the demands of potential severe summer
weather. The utility also provided a look back at its results in
2015, which demonstrated improved reliability to its customers.
ComEd reported that in 2015 the company marked a third year of
record system reliability and its best safety performance on
record. As a result of smart grid and other system investments,
ComEd customers avoided nearly 2.5 million power interruptions and
experienced a 42 percent reduction in the average duration of
outages.
The company also reported that since the start of smart grid
program, which began in 2012, the frequency of power outages have
declined by 44 percent and storm-related customer interruptions
have decreased by 30 percent. In that same time period, advanced
technology like smart switches that reroute power around potential
problem areas, new storm-hardening solutions and cable replacement
also have contributed to nearly 6 million avoided customer
interruptions – resulting in $1.1 billion in societal savings.
“The smart grid investments and other system improvements
continue to provide direct benefits to our customers. 2015 marked
three years of record system reliability and the best safety
performance on record for ComEd,” said Terence R. Donnelly,
executive vice president and chief operating officer, ComEd. “As we
move into the summer season, our system and employees are ready and
remain focused on providing our customers the very best service
possible.”
ComEd outlined its plans to prepare for storms in 2016. Back in
2012, ComEd launched yearly storm task force groups to review and
improve ComEd processes during severe weather. To date more than
300 process improvements have been made. This year, teams are
focused on several areas including providing more accurate
restoration times to customers, better management of crew
scheduling and the ability to more quickly train mutual assistance
crews, and improving the gathering of metrics.
ComEd also detailed its work to participate in local and
national exercises with other utilities and contractors to improve
coordination in the event of larger scale storms. ComEd also hosted
a local contractor symposium to review process changes and
improvements, and share feedback and best practices from them.
“We are an active member of three regional mutual assistance
groups, which gives more resources to draw from in the event of a
significant weather event,” said Michelle Blaise, senior
vice-president of Technical Services for ComEd. “We worked with our
sister utilities – PECO, BGE and PHI – as well as state and local
agencies to drill on emergency preparedness. We also work regularly
with city and county officials on Load Shed and response exercises.
All of this coordination means that we are better prepared, and our
mutual assistance crews are will be ready to jump into action when
needed to restore customers quickly and safely.”
One of the most important aspects of ComEd’s daily work and
storm response is communication with its customers. The utility
reported that, in an effort to improve its availability to
customers, it extended its customer service hours by one hour per
day, now Monday – Friday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Additionally, more
than 100 temporary customer service agents are being on-boarded to
assist with increased summer call volume.
During a storm, ComEd has improved the way customers can report
an outage. Blaise reported that customers can report an outage
through ComEd’s website without logging in to their account. This
is in addition to a mobile app for iPhone® and Android™® smart
phones that gives customers the ability to report power outages and
manage their accounts. Customers can also report outages through
ComEd’s Facebook and Twitter pages, or by calling 1-800 EDISON-1
(1-800-334-7661). Spanish-speaking customers should call
1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive
energy provider, with approximately 10 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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