ComEd today has officially confirmed the news of approval from Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) regarding its second Beneficial Electrification (BE) Plan, which conceives an investment of approximately $168 million over a three-year period beginning in 2026.
According to certain reports, the stated inflow of money builds upon ComEd’s ongoing $231 million investment in beneficial electrification, deployed from 2023 through 2025. For better understanding, thus far, the company has incentivized the purchase and installation of nearly 5,000 public and private EV charging ports (Level 2 and Fast Chargers), as well as the purchase or lease of nearly 1,000 new and pre-owned electric fleet vehicles.
Not just that, well over 70% of the rebates awarded by the company have gone to low-income customers or business and public sector organizations located in, or primarily serving, low-income and Equity Investment Eligible Communities (EIECs). Validating ComEd’s impact further would be a fact that, over the same period, Illinois would also experience its EV registrations grow three to four times faster than any other US state.
Anyway, more on the newly-approved financial package would reveal that it will be deployed between 2026 and 2028 through BE Plan 2 to help residential and non-residential customers to take advantage of electric vehicles.
“The shift to EVs is a major milestone on the road to Illinois’ clean energy future, and it is part of a broader effort to electrify more of our region’s energy system,” said Gil C. Quiniones, ComEd President and CEO. “ComEd is helping to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and enable all communities to enjoy the benefits and opportunities that flow from the global energy transformation.”
Talk about the benefits of ComEd’s second Beneficial Electrification Plan on a slightly deeper level, they begin from the access to a comprehensive EV charger and installation program, which will use a sum of $11 million, over the course of 3 years, to offer rebates of up to $2,500 per household, supporting the purchase and installation of residential Level 2 electric vehicle chargers.
Next up, there is the potential to access a business and public sector EV purchase program. This particular program will deploy a total of $82 million to offer rebates for the purchase or lease of new or pre-owned fleet EVs of all weight classes.
“Illinois is committed to decarbonizing the transportation sector, and ComEd’s BE Plan 2 plays a crucial role in enabling more electric vehicle adoption in the state,” said Megha Lakhchaura, State EV Officer of Illinois. “By expanding charging infrastructure and providing incentives from the state and key partners like ComEd, we are making EV adoption more accessible and practical.”
Another detail worth a mention is rooted in ComEd’s business and public sector make-ready program. Allotted of $44 million in totality, the make-ready program will offer rebates for covering costs associated with making sites ready for public or private Level 2 of DC Fast Charging equipment.
Then, there is a customer education and awareness program, where ComEd will invest around $11 million to fund multiple efforts towards empowering customers and helping them make informed decisions about vehicle electrification and charging infrastructure deployment. This whole proposition is likely to include free access to ComEd support tools, such as Fleet Electrification Assessments, EV Toolkits and training programs, and free Fleet Electrification Assessments.
Hold on, we still have a few bits left to unpack, considering we haven’t yet touched upon ComEd second Beneficial Electrification Plan’s bid to offer a research and development program, which will bank upon a funding of $11 million to evaluate and demonstrate the impact associated with new transportation and electrification technologies.
Rounding up highlights would be a portfolio program. Supported through a $9 million investment, this program will back a variety of initiatives to support a successful deployment of BE Plan 2.
“Reducing vehicle emissions is one of the most effective ways to improve air quality and public health,” said Brian Urbaszewski, Director of Environmental Health Programs at Respiratory Health Association. “Given current uncertainty with other sources of funding that foster zero-emission transportation, ComEd’s continued investment in its Beneficial Electrification Plan is now even more critical in helping cut harmful pollutants.”
