Choosing an electricity supplier in Illinois

The Price to Compare, November 2026

The Price to Compare is the price per kWh that ComEd or Ameren Illinois charges for the electricity itself on its default service, the supply a home gets when it has not chosen anyone else. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) publishes it on Plug In Illinois, and it is the number a supplier's price has to be set against.

For November 2026, ComEd's Price to Compare was 10.103¢ per kWh, against 9.689¢ per kWh in the same month a year earlier. Ameren's was 10.441¢ per kWh, against 8.402¢ per kWh¹.

Three details decide how the figure is read:

• It covers supply and transmission. Plug In Illinois defines both utilities' Price to Compare as the electric supply charge plus the transmission services charge (ComEd, Ameren Illinois). A supplier replaces both lines; the distribution (delivery) charges stay with the utility.
• It leaves out the purchased electricity adjustment. This monthly credit or charge trues up what default customers paid against what the power actually cost, so the supply price on a real bill moves a little each month.
• Ameren has two tiers. In the non-summer months (October to May) Ameren's supply price is lower on use above a set monthly amount; the figure above is the first tier, for residential customers without electric space heat.

The utilities do not set this price themselves. Illinois created the Illinois Power Agency in 2007 to manage the procurement of default supply for ComEd and Ameren customers, and the utilities pass the cost on without mark-up, according to the ICC's Price to Compare explainer. The highest monthly values in the ICC's series, which starts in January 2017, were 12.236¢ per kWh at Ameren in October 2022 and 11.049¢ per kWh¹ at ComEd in September 2022.

Ameren Illinois Price to Compare (supply, residential)

Source: Illinois Commerce Commission, Plug In Illinois, historical Prices to Compare. The residential default-service price for supply and transmission (electric supply charge plus transmission services charge), as published by the Illinois Commerce Commission on Plug In Illinois. It excludes distribution charges and the purchased electricity adjustment, which changes monthly.

Show the numbers

Month	Price to Compare (¢/kWh)
January 2017	6.519¢
February 2017	6.519¢
March 2017	6.519¢
April 2017	6.519¢
May 2017	6.519¢
June 2017	5.369¢
July 2017	5.369¢
August 2017	5.369¢
September 2017	5.369¢
October 2017	6.167¢
November 2017	6.167¢
December 2017	6.167¢
January 2018	6.162¢
February 2018	6.162¢
March 2018	6.162¢
April 2018	6.162¢
May 2018	6.162¢
June 2018	4.658¢
July 2018	4.658¢
August 2018	4.658¢
September 2018	4.658¢
October 2018	5.038¢
November 2018	5.038¢
December 2018	5.038¢
January 2019	5.026¢
February 2019	5.026¢
March 2019	5.026¢
April 2019	5.026¢
May 2019	5.026¢
June 2019	4.561¢
July 2019	4.561¢
August 2019	4.561¢
September 2019	4.561¢
October 2019	4.715¢
November 2019	4.715¢
December 2019	4.715¢
January 2020	4.707¢
February 2020	4.707¢
March 2020	4.707¢
April 2020	4.707¢
May 2020	4.707¢
June 2020	4.396¢
July 2020	4.396¢
August 2020	4.396¢
September 2020	4.396¢
October 2020	4.542¢
November 2020	4.542¢
December 2020	4.542¢
January 2021	4.553¢
February 2021	4.553¢
March 2021	4.553¢
April 2021	4.553¢
May 2021	4.553¢
June 2021	4.821¢
July 2021	4.821¢
August 2021	4.821¢
September 2021	4.821¢
October 2021	5.407¢
November 2021	5.407¢
December 2021	5.407¢
January 2022	5.478¢
February 2022	5.478¢
March 2022	5.478¢
April 2022	5.478¢
May 2022	5.478¢
June 2022	10.623¢
July 2022	10.628¢
August 2022	10.628¢
September 2022	10.628¢
October 2022	12.236¢
November 2022	12.236¢
December 2022	12.236¢
January 2023	11.833¢
February 2023	11.833¢
March 2023	11.833¢
April 2023	11.833¢
May 2023	11.833¢
June 2023	7.877¢
July 2023	7.877¢
August 2023	7.877¢
September 2023	7.877¢
October 2023	8.107¢
November 2023	8.107¢
December 2023	8.107¢
January 2024	8.683¢
February 2024	8.683¢
March 2024	8.683¢
April 2024	8.683¢
May 2024	8.683¢
June 2024	8.136¢
July 2024	8.136¢
August 2024	8.136¢
September 2024	8.136¢
October 2024	8.090¢
November 2024	8.090¢
December 2024	8.090¢
January 2025	8.277¢
February 2025	8.277¢
March 2025	8.277¢
April 2025	8.277¢
May 2025	8.277¢
June 2025	12.180¢
July 2025	12.180¢
August 2025	12.180¢
September 2025	12.180¢
October 2025	8.402¢
November 2025	8.402¢
December 2025	8.402¢
January 2026	8.769¢
February 2026	8.769¢
March 2026	8.769¢
April 2026	8.769¢
May 2026	8.769¢
June 2026	11.326¢
July 2026	11.326¢
August 2026	11.326¢
September 2026	11.326¢
October 2026	10.441¢
November 2026	10.441¢

Ameren's line steps up and down within each year because its summer (June to September) supply price differs from the rest of the year. ComEd's recent values and its monthly adjustment are in the table below.

Who can choose, and who cannot

Plug In Illinois lists three territories where homes can choose who supplies their electricity: ComEd, Ameren Illinois and MidAmerican (Electric Choice Basics). Homes served by an electric cooperative or by a city that runs its own electric system buy from that utility. The Illinois state page shows which utilities serve each county; the utility's own map decides by address.

Two Illinois rules shape who can switch:

1. Households receiving energy assistance. Since January 1, 2020, a supplier may not enroll a customer who received LIHEAP assistance in the previous 12 months or who is in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP). Municipal aggregation and Commission-approved savings guarantee plans are the exceptions (Plug In Illinois FAQ). Illinois received $199.8 million² in federal LIHEAP funds for FY2026.
2. Returning to the utility. The utility charges no fee to take a customer back, but the customer may have to stay on utility supply for at least 12 months (Plug In Illinois). A supplier contract can carry its own early cancellation penalty.

Choosing a supplier changes only the supply line. Outages, meter reading and delivery stay with the utility, and its delivery charges are the same whatever supply a home buys.

How many Illinois homes buy from a supplier

EIA's annual census counted 1,056,781 Illinois residential customers buying their electricity from one of 52 suppliers or aggregation programs in 2025. That was 22.5% of all residential customers, the 7th highest³ share among the states and DC.

The ICC keeps its own monthly count of residential customers taking service from a retail electric supplier: 1,152,941⁴ in August 2026. The commission's switching statistics show the count was higher in earlier years. The two counts differ in date and method, so they are reported side by side rather than reconciled.

The split between the two large utilities is the clearest feature of the Illinois market. In 2025, 475,151 of the 1,062,810 homes on Ameren's wires bought supply elsewhere, 44.7%. On ComEd's much larger system, 733,794 of 3,753,924 did, 19.5%³. In EIA's count these customers include those enrolled through municipal aggregation as well as those who signed with a supplier themselves.

Municipal aggregation: the town chooses

Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act lets a city, village or county buy electricity supply for its residents and eligible small businesses as a group (Plug In Illinois). It applies only in ComEd and Ameren territory, not to co-op or municipal utility customers.

There are two kinds of program:

• Opt-out. Voters approve a referendum, and every eligible home is enrolled with the chosen supplier unless it returns the opt-out notice the supplier mails. Plug In Illinois says most communities use this form.
• Opt-in. The council or county board adopts an ordinance, and only residents who enroll take part.

A home in an opt-out community can therefore be a supplier customer without having signed anything. The ICC's list of aggregation communities shows which towns have a program; the town's notice gives its price and term.

What each part of the market averaged in 2025

EIA reports Illinois residential revenue by service part, and the parts cover different customers and different pieces of the bill:

• Full service, supply and delivery: residential customers who bought both from their utility paid an average of 17.07¢ per kWh in 2025. At ComEd the figure was 17.71¢ per kWh; at Ameren, 16.70¢ per kWh.
• Supply only: customers of suppliers and aggregation programs paid their supplier an average of 10.75¢ per kWh.
• Delivery only: the utilities billed those same customers 8.83¢ per kWh for delivery, 8.89¢ per kWh at ComEd and 8.77¢ per kWh³ at Ameren.

Utility full-service customers (default service): supply and delivery17.07¢

Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only10.75¢

Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only8.83¢

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh by service part, EIA-861 2025. Supply-only and delivery-only averages each cover only part of a bill and different groups of customers; adding them gives only a rough estimate of what a shopping customer paid in total.

Show the numbers

Part of the market	¢/kWh
Utility full-service customers (default service): supply and delivery	17.07¢
Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only	10.75¢
Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only	8.83¢

Each figure is average revenue per kWh: what a group of customers paid in total divided by the electricity it used, across every contract and month of the year. The supply-only average mixes fixed and variable contracts, aggregation agreements and customers who signed years ago; it is a record of 2025, not an offer. It also cannot be set against a single month's Price to Compare, because the Price to Compare changes during the year and covers a different group of customers.

Ameren Illinois (IL)8.77¢

ComEd (IL)8.89¢

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. Delivery charges only: what the utility billed customers who buy supply elsewhere, divided by their kWh. Not comparable with bundled prices.

Show the numbers

Utility	delivery-only revenue per kWh (residential)
Ameren Illinois (IL)	8.77¢
ComEd (IL)	8.89¢

Delivery is the part no supplier can change. ComEd's delivery-only average rose from 7.93¢ per kWh in 2024 to 8.89¢ per kWh in 2025; Ameren's from 8.29¢ per kWh⁵ to 8.77¢ per kWh³.

Checking an offer against the Price to Compare

Plug In Illinois notes that any savings claim from a supplier refers to the supply part of the bill only. To check one:

1. Line up like with like. Set the supplier's price per kWh against your utility's Price to Compare, both covering supply and transmission. Ask the supplier, as the ICC's list of questions suggests, what the price includes and what the total would be for a given month's use.
2. Check the type and length. A fixed price holds for the contract term; a variable price can change monthly. Ask about the term, the early cancellation penalty and what happens when the contract ends.
3. Remember the Price to Compare moves. It changes several times a year, as the ICC's historical series shows, and the monthly purchased electricity adjustment shifts what default customers actually pay. A fixed offer below today's figure may sit above it later, or the reverse.
4. Consider hourly pricing. Both utilities also offer supply priced by the hour at wholesale cost (Plug In Illinois). In 2025, 382,255 ComEd and 168,050 Ameren residential customers were enrolled in time-varying pricing, which EIA records as real-time pricing and critical peak rebates⁶. To compare it with an offer, Plug In Illinois suggests dividing the supply section of past bills by the kWh used.
5. Look up the supplier. The ICC publishes its list of certified suppliers and supplier complaint statistics on Plug In Illinois.

The Price to Compare guide explains the measure across all choice states, and the delivery vs supply guide breaks down the two halves of a bill.

Where Illinois prices stand

Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026), Illinois homes paid an average of 18.91¢ per kWh across all utilities and suppliers, 4.8% above the US average and 16th highest⁷ among the states and DC. From 2024 to 2025 the annual average rose 11.3%, the 4th highest⁸ increase in the country. The state's prices, bills and history are on the Illinois page; utility detail is on the ComEd and Ameren Illinois pages.