ComEd Pioneers Real-Time Pricing Program for Residential Customers

Most participants saved money in 2007

CHICAGO, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The majority of customers who
participated in ComEd's unique Residential Real-Time Pricing (RRTP) program
for all 12 months in 2007 experienced an annual savings between 7 to
12 percent compared to the fixed rate other residential customers received,
according to figures released by the utility today.
While there is no guarantee customers will save money in ComEd's RRTP
program, about 95 percent of the 3,300 customers that actively participated
last year paid less than customers on a fixed rate.
ComEd was the first utility in the nation to offer a program to all
residential customers based on actual hourly pricing. Enrollment in the
program requires ComEd to install an electric meter capable of measuring and
recording electric usage in 30-minute intervals. Standard meters measure from
the last time they were read.
RRTP participants are billed for the electricity they consume based on
hourly wholesale market prices. They have access to hourly pricing information
via the Internet and pricing alerts via text messaging and e-mail.
Participants may choose to make adjustments in their electricity usage based
on the hourly prices. For instance, if pricing alerts indicate that
electricity prices could reach or exceed 13 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh),
about 2.5 cents higher than ComEd's fixed rate, customers can save money by
shifting their electricity usage to lower-priced hours later in the day.
"The odds definitely were in your favor if you were enrolled in the
residential real time pricing program last year," said Anne Pramaggiore,
executive vice president, Customer Operations, External and Regulatory
Affairs. "We can't predict what hourly electricity prices will be throughout
2008 since they are market-based and driven by supply and demand. But
generally, if a customer can shift the use of energy-hungry appliances like
air conditioners, laundry machines and dishwashers to low-price hours -- like
evenings, nights and mornings -- they should be able to make a difference in
their electricity costs."
Customers who enroll in the program also help the environment by reducing
their overall usage and by shifting the demand for electricity away from peak
periods to off-peak hours. When customers reduce their usage, less electricity
is needed from power plants that generate emissions linked to global climate
change.
Marketing efforts are being increased to make more customers aware of the
program. This month, more than 2 million customers in single-family homes
received billing inserts with information about the program. Customers who
visit http://www.theWattspot.com/winaprius and complete a survey to learn more
about the program will become eligible to participate in a drawing for a Prius
that will be given away in November. No purchase or enrollment in ComEd's
RRTP program is necessary to enter and not all customers are eligible. See
contest rules for more information. "Toyota" and "Prius" are registered
trademarks of Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki AKA Toyota Motor Corporation. The
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha AKA Toyota Motor Corporation does not sponsor
and is not affiliated with this sweepstakes.
Any residential customer located in the ComEd electric service territory
can join. To learn more about the program or to enroll, a customer should
visit the program administrator, Comverge, at http://www.theWattSpot.com or by
calling them at 1-866-WATTSPOT.
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon
Corporation (NYSE: EXC), one of the nation's largest electric utilities with
approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately
3.8 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's
population.
SOURCE ComEd

John Dewey, Media Relations of ComEd, +1-312-394-3500