ComEd customers may pay for grid upgrade

The president of ComEd says the utility's customers may be asked to pay a permanent $3 monthly surcharge to help pay for an upgrade of the electricity delivery system.

ComEd CEO J. Barry Mitchell says the upgrade, which would include new digital technologies, would allow ComEd to know when an outage occurs without a call from an affected customer. It also would allow remote switching of circuits that now can only be flipped manually.

Mitchell on Tuesday told a Chicago City Council committee meeting the initial phase of smart grid would incorporate technology proven to lead to fewer and shorter outages and strengthen the system infrastructure.

David Kolata of the Citizens Utility Board, said his organization supports smart-grid technologies but questions the need for the surcharge.