ComEd Programs Help Hundreds of Thousands of Northern Illinois Small Businesses Cut Costs and Save Energy
ComEd’s small business offering saved businesses $262 million in annual energy costs, while granting $600 million in incentives to offset the cost of energy-efficiency upgrades
As small-business owners face rising operating costs, ComEd is marking a major milestone: more than 100,000 small businesses across northern Illinois have completed free facility assessments. Energy-saving improvements made through these assessments have helped participating businesses save $262.8 million annually on energy costs, supported by $607 million in incentives to offset the cost of upgrades.
To mark the milestone, ComEd joined small-business owners and local elected officials in Elmhurst, IL, to highlight the value of facility assessments, which include an in-person site visit to identify energy-saving projects and potential incentives.
"Small businesses are an indispensable part of our local neighborhoods, providing jobs and contributing to the vibrancy of our communities," said Gil Quiniones, ComEd President and CEO. "We’re extremely proud that our EE program is lowering costs for small businesses, enhancing their financial security and improving local air quality."
Facility assessments are part of the award-winning ComEd Energy Efficiency (EE) Program, which also offers instant discounts, rebates, technical services and whole-building solutions to help families, businesses and public-sector customers reduce energy use and save money on electric bills.
Since 2015, small-business customers that completed facility assessments have saved 2.2 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy, helping avoid nearly 1.7 billion pounds of carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. That is equivalent to planting more than 750,000 acres of trees or taking 176,000 cars off the road for one year. Eligible small-business customers include restaurants, grocery stores and churches with peak energy demand below 500 kilowatts. A full list of qualifying businesses and available EE offerings is available at ComEd.com/SmallBiz.
"At a time when small businesses are managing rising costs and tighter margins, programs like the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program are among the most practical tools we have to help them stay competitive," said State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton. "The free facility assessments and incentives give business owners a clear path to lower their energy use and their monthly bills, while supporting the broader clean energy goals we have set for Illinois."
Small businesses face financial pressures that differ from those of households and large corporations. With tighter margins and limited reserves, many owners need immediate cash relief. Reliable reductions in energy costs help small businesses better plan for future expansion in resources and staff.
While the benefits of the ComEd EE Program are felt across northern Illinois, participation has been especially strong in District 23, which includes Elmhurst. Since 2015, nearly 4,000 local businesses have completed EE upgrades, receiving more than $24 million in incentives while saving more than $13 million in annual costs and 100 million kWh of energy. The energy savings are equivalent to planting more than 35,000 acres of trees or taking more than 8,000 cars off the road for one year.
"Small businesses across DuPage County are navigating real financial pressures, from rising energy supply costs to tighter margins on every sale," said Greg Bedalov, President and CEO of Choose DuPage. "The ComEd Energy Efficiency Program gives businesses a path to long-term savings through free facility assessments and incentives that cover most of the cost of upgrades. Together, these programs give our small businesses the support they need to focus on what they do best, which is serving their customers and growing in our communities."
Joe’s Auto & Truck Repair is a family-operated shop that services cars and light-duty trucks for both individual drivers and businesses. In 2025, the shop took advantage of a ComEd facility assessment to install lighting retrofits and compressed-air system upgrades, earning more than $3,000 in incentives and an estimated savings of nearly 13,000 kWh of electricity.
"Joe's Auto & Truck Repair has been part of the Elmhurst community since 1983, and every dollar we save is a dollar we can reinvest into our team and our customers," Robert Stobienia, Director, Joe’s Auto and Truck Repair. "Through the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program, we were able to upgrade our lighting and compressed air system with incentives that made the improvements easy to take on. The result has been immediate savings on our monthly energy bills, and the confidence of knowing our shop is running more efficiently for years to come. I would encourage every small business in the area to look into what ComEd's program can do for them."
Long- and short -term solutions for small-business customers
Small business facility assessments are among the long-term solutions ComEd offers to help businesses across northern Illinois save money and energy. In the short term, for businesses in need of relief from current bills and past-due balances, ComEd recently extended last year’s Customer Relief Fund. Backed by Exelon, ComEd’s parent company, the $2.5 million fund provides a one-time matching grant of up to $500 to eligible small- and medium-sized business customers in ComEd’s northern Illinois service territory. To qualify, businesses must use less than 500 kilowatts, have an active ComEd commercial-meter account and a past-due balance, and have no unpaid tampering fees or bankruptcy filing. Home-based businesses are not eligible.
Grant applications, administered by Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago, must be submitted online at ComEd.com/SMBRelief. Phone applications will not be accepted.
Together, these efforts demonstrate ComEd’s commitment to The Exelon Promise, Exelon’s customer-focused strategy to deliver immediate relief, strong protections and long-term solutions for rising energy costs.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC), a Fortune 200 company and one of the nation’s largest utility companies, serving almost 11 million customers through six fully regulated transmission and distribution utilities — Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
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