Illinois
Illinois electricity: compare suppliers in ComEd and Ameren territory
Illinois is a deregulated market. Your utility still delivers the power, but you can choose who supplies it. There's one Illinois twist most sites skip, and it changes the whole question for a lot of residents.
Before you compare: are you in a municipal aggregation program?
Hundreds of Illinois communities have negotiated a town-wide electricity supply rate and automatically enrolled their residents. If yours is one of them, the supply rate on your bill is your aggregation rate, not ComEd's or Ameren's Price to Compare, and that aggregation rate is the number a competitive offer actually has to beat. So the honest first step in much of Illinois isn't “switch off the utility default” — it's checking what you're actually paying. Look at your bill or the official community list before you assume. You can opt out of an aggregation program at no charge.
How to tell if your town is aggregated, and what to do about itHow electricity choice works in Illinois
Illinois opened its market to competition under the 1997 Customer Choice law. Three layers run the system, and keeping them straight is the key to shopping well.
- Generation — the power plants that produce electricity, bought and sold in wholesale markets.
- Delivery — your utility (ComEd or Ameren Illinois) owns the poles, wires, and meter. It is a regulated monopoly and stays the same whether or not you shop.
- Supply — the electricity itself. This is the part you can shop for with a competitive supplier, called an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier (ARES), or the part a municipal aggregation program negotiates for your town.
The official place to compare certified ARES offers is Plug In Illinois, run by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).
Your utility: ComEd or Ameren Illinois
Which utility delivers your power depends on where you live. Each publishes a Price to Compare, the default supply rate that a competitive offer is measured against.
Compare and explore Illinois electricity
Start with our independent, utility-segmented ranking, then check your city — ComEd and Ameren Illinois rates differ, so we keep them separate.
See the best Illinois electricity plans, ranked by utility →Illinois cities we cover
Illinois electricity FAQ
- Is Illinois electricity deregulated?
- Yes. Illinois opened its electricity market to competition under the 1997 Customer Choice law, with residential choice phased in over the following years. Most ComEd and Ameren Illinois customers can choose a competitive supplier, called an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier (ARES). One Illinois-specific wrinkle: hundreds of municipalities run opt-out 'municipal aggregation' programs, so many residents were automatically enrolled in a town-negotiated supply rate rather than the utility default. It's worth checking your bill before assuming which rate you're on.
- What is the Price to Compare?
- The Price to Compare (PTC) is your utility's default supply rate — from ComEd or Ameren Illinois — and the benchmark a competitive offer has to beat. Important Illinois caveat: if your town runs a municipal aggregation program, you may already be on an aggregation rate instead of the utility PTC. Check your bill to see what you are actually paying before you compare, because the honest question in much of Illinois is whether you can beat your aggregation rate, not just the utility default.
- Can I switch back to my utility?
- Yes. You can return to your utility's default supply at any time, and you'll pay the current Price to Compare. If you were automatically enrolled in a municipal aggregation program, you can opt out at no charge. If you signed a fixed-term contract with a supplier, leaving early may trigger an early termination fee.