29-07-2025
Illinois ComEd customers may be paying for electrical waste, company says; utility disputes claim
A company that measures and tracks electrical grids across America says that the ComEd grid in Illinois has the highest electrical waste in the country, and customers are paying for it.
Ever since a supplier rate change took effect, ComEd customers have reported seeing their bills double or more.
Maryland-based Whisker Labs has installed nearly 1 million Ting sensors nationwide, and about 51,000 in the greater Chicago area. The sensors measure and track electrical grid resiliency and energy efficiency in regards to power delivered to homes.
"This is effectively another surcharge that nobody knows about," said engineer and CEO Bob Marshall.
Marshall developed the Ting sensors to help prevent electrical fires after his sister-in-law's home burned down from one in 2015. But the network of sensors also monitors the power quality going into all of the homes where Ting sensors are installed.
That measurement is made through a metric called Total Harmonic Distortion, which measures the level of "noise" or "distortion" in the electricity. The higher the THD levels, the less energy efficient the electricity is and the more damage it could cause to appliances and devices, according to Whisker Labs.
The company says industry standards specify that THD levels should remain below 8%.
"They all measure the same thing, the same way," he explained. "Chicago is very unique. Usually, I mean, less than 2% of homes across the country have distorted power. But 40% of the home in Chicago have distorted power, and that is costing consumers. It can cost several hundred dollars per year."
Marshall said the distorted power means Chicago customers could be paying for energy waste. He said they see a similar pattern in the Denver area, but he said it's not as bad as the distortion they're measuring in ComEd territory.
ComEd said in a statement that it "strongly questions" Whisker Lab's claims, in part because the company hasn't shared their original data, and called their claims about "harmonics" causing electrical bills to be higher "unsubstantiated."
Marshall said energy waste is worse in Chicago neighborhoods where the map shows red, maroon and purple. Suburbs like Northbrook, Schaumburg and Country Club Hills also show significant distortion, according to their data.
"We can't speak to the cause. I mean, we know it's originating on the grid. It's not coming from individual homes because there are particular communities that have this problem," Marshall said.
ComEd didn't offer a theory for why the sensor readings look different for our area, but said in a statement that Illinois customers have some of the lowest average electricity bills in the Midwest.
"Our hope is to use data for good to help utilities, help communities understand where there are challenges on the grid, and address them proactively before they cause damage or catastrophes," Marshall said.
Marshall noted that when it comes to power outages, they've found that ComEd's reliability is pretty good compared to the rest of the country.
ComEd strongly questions many of Whisker Lab's claims about harmonics and about the capability of their in-home sensors both because many of the metrics they reference are not recognized by the electric power industry and because Whisker Labs has refused to share either its methodology or original measurement data with us. The Ting sensors used by WL are a measure of electrical signals in the home, not the grid or its reliability. Further, their claims about harmonics inflating customer bills are unsubstantiated. In fact, ComEd's investments in the grid, as well as its work to manage costs, have contributed to our Illinois customer having among the lowest average electricity bills in the Midwest.
