ComEd Launches First Wave of Smart Meter Installations

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Mon Nov 9, 2009 4:40pm EST

CHICAGO, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Today ComEd will begin to install the first
wave of the 131,000 smart meters being deployed for its Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI) pilot. In the first week, ComEd expects to exchange 7,500
meters in River Forest and Forest Park.

One of the most comprehensive tests of smart meter technology's value to
customers in the nation, the one-year AMI, or "smart meter" project will
assess how technology can improve service, help customers make more informed
decisions about energy use, and contribute to lower energy costs and reduced
carbon emissions.

"This is the first step toward a more advanced electricity system that will
provide customers with more information, more quickly," said Anne Pramaggiore,
president and chief operating officer, ComEd. "By providing daily usage
information, ComEd is moving from an electricity delivery business model to a
21st century delivery and service model."

A smart meter is a digital electric meter that collects usage information
every 30 minutes and sends that information to ComEd through a secure network.
 When the pilot is fully implemented in early summer 2010, this new technology
will:
    --  Provide customers with daily usage information, accessible through the
        Internet, to help monitor their energy use and manage energy costs.
    --  Enable ComEd to access important account information on demand, so
        customer service representatives can provide more complete
information,
        more quickly.

    --  Allow ComEd to begin assessing the potential operational,
environmental
        and other benefits of smart meters for all ComEd customers.



From November 2009 and May 2010, residents and businesses in nine towns
serviced by ComEd's Maywood operating center including Bellwood, Berwyn,
Broadview, Forest Park, Hillside, Maywood, Melrose Park, Oak Park, River
Forest and the Humboldt Park area in Chicago will receive the new meters.

These areas were selected because they are representative of the entire ComEd
service territory and are a good test bed for technologies that may someday be
deployed throughout the ComEd service territory. Five hundred residents in
Tinley Park also will receive the new meters, for a smaller test with water
meters.

Customers' receiving new meters will receive a notification letter as well as
reminder phone call regarding the meter change out. Door-hangers will be
posted where possible at the time of the exchange. For more information,
Customers can access an informational Web page at www.ComEd.com/smartmeter.

Some customers in the pilot will be selected to test a variety of energy
management features and technologies including alternative pricing plans, Web
interfaces, in-home displays, home area networks and programmable thermostats.
This will allow ComEd to examine the new meters' operational benefits for
customers as well as how they respond and use the technology and track any
changes in their consumption habits.

The cost of the pilot is approximately $69 million and costs will be shared by
all ComEd customers. During 2010, this will increase the average residential
customer's bill by less than $5.00 a year.

"The results of this pilot will provide additional information to the Illinois
Commerce Commission and other stakeholders as we work together to develop a
potential roadmap for statewide Smart Grid deployment," said Pramaggiore. "We
are taking a measured approach in order to ensure we are delivering higher
levels of reliability and providing customers unprecedented choice and
control."

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

ComEd Media Relations, +1-312-394-3500
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