The projected costs were revealed in expert testimony filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission, and it also showed the utility has only collected about $721 million in deposits from data center developers.
ComEd expects to spend more than $3 billion to connect data centers to its electric grid in the coming years, but it has only collected about one-fourth of the costs from data center developers — a troubling gap that could leave Illinois consumers on the hook, according to consumer groups.
The figures are from ComEd’s cost projections that were included with expert testimony this summer in a regulatory matter before the Illinois Commerce Commission. The expert testifying on behalf of the Citizens Utility Board, Environmental Law & Policy Center, National Resources Defense Counsel, Vote Solar and the Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed the utility’s cost projections, which are based on 30 large-load users.
The consumer advocates say that if the large-load data center projects don’t come to fruition after the utility has spent billions to connect them, Illinois households and small businesses could be left holding the bag — an assertion ComEd denies.
While companies associated with the 30 projects were redacted, the figures include more than $1.4 billion in new transmission work, $189 million in upgrades to existing transmission infrastructure and more than $1.5 billion to improve the distribution system, for a total of $3.1 billion in anticipated costs.
Deposits and advance payment commitments for these projects total $720.9 million.
The large-load users have been built in Illinois since 2021 or are expected to come online through 2031 and will need access to 50 megawatts or more of power — enough electricity for a small city.
That level of usage could describe a major industrial plant, but CUB believes the projects are data centers, which are being proposed around the country as part of the artificial intelligence boom.
CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz says it’s unfair for tech corporations to not pay upfront and that “everyday electric customers are potentially on the hook for billions in higher bills” for system improvements.
CUB was created by the state legislature in 1983 as an independent, nonpartisan advocate for residential and small business utility customers.
A ComEd spokesman said the consumer groups’ analysis “is not complete and paints an inaccurate picture.”
The utility points to its new “Transmission Security Agreements” with large-load users that protect its spending on transmission work. Those agreements, approved by state and federal regulators, will “ensure that large-load customers cover the costs of serving them for the duration of the TSA, even if they go out of business or use substantially less energy than expected,” the spokesman said.
As for the $1.5 billion in distribution improvements, ComEd says it’s still working out what that infrastructure will cost and how much the large users will need to deposit.
“Some of these projects will not come online for five years, and ComEd’s engineering work needed to estimate the deposits is not yet complete. This means that the $721 million deposit amount may increase,” the utility’s spokesman says. He added that ComEd “supports the principle of cost allocation to large-load customers.”
ComEd also has asked the ICC for permission to throttle data centers’ service if the grid becomes too stressed, such as on very hot days.
But CUB and other consumer advocates say that’s not enough and Illinois leaders need to plan for a worst-case scenario, in which some of the projects don’t proceed and ComEd is left with stranded assets that still need to be paid off.
Nick Wallace, senior associate attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, says the financial exposure for consumers could be even higher because there will likely be more data centers following the 30 in ComEd’s queue.
The groups are pushing Illinois lawmakers to pass the Protecting Our Water, Energy and Ratepayers Act, or POWER Act, which would require data centers to pay 100% of their costs before connecting to the grid.
The proposed legislation also includes protections against pollution and overuse of water.
Data centers’ outsized needs for energy and water — and the noise they produce — have upset people from across the political spectrum who say they don’t want them in their communities.
The pressure comes amid rising electric bills and consumer frustration over high prices for food, housing, healthcare and other essentials. ComEd’s electricity supply price is up about 50% compared to two years ago, according to CUB.
Gov. JB Pritzker has voiced support for data center regulations, which could come up during the veto session in Springfield in mid-November and early December.