ComEd Utility Agrees to Pay $200M Fine for Federal Bribery Charge

Last summer Activist Post published this article about ComEd:

“Energy News” Reports Low-income Utility Customers in Illinois Could Be Paying More For Their Smart Meters. Why This Could Be Happening Elsewhere

Now the utility company seems to be in bigger trouble due to their “Smart” Grid program. From GreenTechMedia:

A bribery scandal has swallowed the Exelon subsidiary’s legislative goals over the past year.

Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison has agreed to pay a $200 million fine in relation to a federal investigation over bribery charges that have cast a shadow over its policy efforts in the state capital.

Friday’s deferred prosecution agreement filed in federal court will require ComEd to pay the fine and comply with regulations for three years. But the agreement, which is awaiting a court hearing date, will allow the 4.2-million-customer utility and parent company Exelon to avoid a criminal trial that could further expose details of its alleged wrongdoing to public scrutiny.

ComEd stands accused of steering jobs, contracts and payments to associates of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for favorable treatment in the state legislature, including legislation related to rate increases, WBEZ reported Friday. Exelon CEO Anne Pramaggiore left the company in October, and top lobbyists have also left the company.

The scandal has cast a pall over ComEd’s relationship with state lawmakers and clean-energy advocates, and has stymied its efforts to move ahead with preferred legislation. That includes an effort to remove ComEd from the capacity market operated by mid-Atlantic grid operator PJM as a means of protecting its nuclear power plants from unfavorable pricing likely to emerge from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s December decision to force PJM to impose minimum prices on a wide array of state-supported grid resources.

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“Smart” Meters collect customer usage data 24/7, whereas original 1-way transmitting analog meters DO NOT. Utilities collect and analyze usage data so they can market more products and services to customers and/or sell it to 3rd parties a la “Surveillance Capitalism.”

Activist Post Recommended Book: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

Since utilities worldwide have installed tens of millions of “Smart” Meters – electric, gas, and water – it’s likely that you have them installed on your home and throughout your community. They are horrible – hence the documentary produced about them in 2013 and updated and re-released in 2017. LED streetlights (also being proposed by ComEd) are also horrible and don’t save much energy after all.

Activist Post reports regularly about “Smart” Meters and other unsafe technology. For more information, visit our archives and the following websites:

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