Jim Duffy, Whiteside County Board Chair, said, “These are very challenging times, and every County department and employee is dedicated to helping our residents and businesses as much as possible. We look internally and externally to find programs and assistance, and this is one of the external programs we can alert Whiteside County residents to. This is not a County program, but a program from one of our partners, and we want to get the information out to those in the County who need additional help, and who can take advantage of it.”
ComEd also announced Helping Hand, a new financial assistance program that – for a limited time – provides an additional one-time grant of up to $300 to help low-income residential customers and those who express financial hardship reduce past-due balances. We hope you will help us inform our customers of this opportunity to obtain help with their electric utility bill.
Customers who are challenged in paying their outstanding balances and electric bills should contact ComEd's customer care team as soon as possible at 800-334-7661, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to take advantage of new and existing assistance options. More information is also available at ComEd.com/CARE.
Details of ComEd's customer support package include:
- Extending the Suspension of Disconnections. ComEd will provide continued relief from service disconnections by extending its suspension on disconnecting customers until either the state moves to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan or Aug. 1, 2020, whichever comes first. Residential and small business customers will have an additional 30-day grace period, during which time ComEd will not disconnect service for nonpayment to help customers get back on their feet. This builds off previous action taken by ComEd to suspend service disconnections; in March, ComEd was one of the first companies in the nation to voluntarily suspend service disconnections and waive new late payment charges.
- Bill Assistance for Eligible Low-Income Customers. To help customers who are past due on their ComEd accounts, ComEd will provide additional bill assistance for eligible, low-income households earning less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
- More Flexible Payment Arrangements. Under the comprehensive support package, customers will have additional flexible payment options, including longer payment plans in which payments will be spread out over up to 18 months for residential customers, or 24 months for low-income customers and customers experiencing financial hardship.
- Extended Fee Relief. ComEd will continue to waive reconnection fees for those eligible residential customers disconnected prior to March 18, 2020 and will waive new residential deposit requirements for an extended period of time.
These comprehensive customer assistance programs supplement the extensive relief that ComEd already offers its customers in need, including:
- Flexible Payment Options. These include budget billing, which averages payments over a 12-month period to help customers manage their monthly energy bills.
- CARE Financial Assistance Grants. For customers who struggle to cover energy expenses, ComEd offers a wide range of financial assistance program.
- Supplemental Arrearage Assistance. Recognizing that customers facing economic hardship may be challenged to quickly pay off debt accrued during a period of nonpayment, ComEd also offers arrearage assistance through its Supplemental Arrearage Protection Program (SARP).
Interested Com ED customers should contact ComEd's customer care team as soon as possible at 800-334-7661, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to take advantage of new and existing assistance options. More information is also available at ComEd.com/CARE.
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