When the polar vortex struck Chicago in the winter of 2013–14, we experienced some of the most severe winter weather in the city's history. Years afterward, Chicagoans will continue to feel the effect of that brutal weather system in the form of higher electricity bills.
After the polar vortex, PJM Interconnection LLC, the regional transition organization that serves Chicago, enacted new rules to financially incentivize power plants in northern Illinois to supply more power during extreme weather in order to store more electricity in their power grids. The theory is that if a similar winter storm system hit again, there would be enough electricity on reserve to keep the power running for customers for the duration of the storm. Power plants that fail to adhere to the new rules are fined.
These new rules are the primary reason electricity prices in Chicago will increase sharply starting in 2018. The results of the annual power auction, which sets electricity prices three years ahead of time, were released recently and show that, as a result of plants anticipating to supply more energy to conform to the rules, the average ComEd customer's annual electricity bill will increase $82 from what they're paying now, and about $100 more than what they'll pay in 2017.
But critics point out that the electric grid never actually failed during the polar vortex. The amount of energy wasn't the problem, it was the distribution of it as a result of equipment exposed to freezing temperatures and harsh conditions. Critics also say the new rules are just another way for energy companies to take advantage of a power-pricing system that places consumers at a disadvantage.
So, what's one to do about these price increases? Simple. Invest in energy stocks so you can afford to pay your exorbitant power pill to avoid freezing to death in the winter.