ComEd, the largest electric utility in Illinois and the primary electric provider for Chicago and much of Northern Illinois, will be making big changes to its billing system as soon as Friday, with some customer tools being impacted as the overhaul takes place.
According to an announcement from the utility, the changes, which will effect customer information and billing, are meant to be a more "sophisticated" system to better serve customers. As part of the system updates, many of ComEd's self-service tools will be limited or offline for at least six days, ComEd said.
"We are currently implementing a new customer billing system designed to better serve our customers," ComEd said in an alert. "Most of our systems, including My Account services, are unavailable through Monday, February 19th. Our ability to process your requests are currently limited to reporting outages and other emergencies."
Part of the change includes assigning all ComEd residential and business customers "new unique account numbers," which the utility says will follow customers through new addresses and service changes.
In other words: If you're a ComEd customer, your account number is about to change. And depending on how you pay your bill, you might need to take action. Here's a breakdown.
What if I have autopay set up?
According to ComEd, customers who have autopay through ComEd set up do not need to take any action.
Local
"These account numbers will be updated automatically and monthly bills will continue to be withdrawn from their designated checking or savings account," ComEd said.
What if I pay my bill each month through my bank account, check, or debit card?
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Upon receiving a new account number, ComEd customers who pay their bills through banks or other financial institution will need to take action.
"If you set up your ComEd bill to be paid directly through your bank or other financial institution's bill pay service, you’ll need to update your account number in early 2024 to help ensure your payments are applied to your account," ComEd said.
According to officials, customers enrolled in ComEd's "Budget Billing" will also be impacted by the changes.
"In addition to receiving a new account number in early 2024, we will also review your monthly billing amounts every three months instead of every six as it is done now," ComEd said, "If your average bill amount over the last 12 months changes by more than 20% compared to your prior budget bill amount, your budget bill amount will be adjusted accordingly."
ComEd officials also note that bills will physically look different, with updated colors and logos. Account numbers can be found in the upper right hand corner of a paper bill, or in the lefthand corner of the home screen on ComEd's mobile app.
New account numbers are expected to be shown on ComEd bills issued on or around Feb. 20, ComEd said. More information can be found here.
