BAD NEWS: Electric Bills Will Be More Expensive in Rockford Soon

Prepare yourself Rockford, ComEd bills are about to get more expensive, but there's a good reason why, and no, it's not all your air conditioners fault.

The Worst Parts of Adulting

Sometimes being an adult is great, others times it is definitely not.

To me, the worst part of adulting is paying bills. Is it just me, or does it seem like the number of bills that we have to pay every month just keeps getting bigger the older we get?

Of all the bills I have to pay monthly, the two that tend to irritate me the most are; the credit card bill and the electricity bill, and one of them is about to go up.

ComEd Bills Are Going Up For Rockford Residents

Most ComEd customers know that bill increases usually come during the holiday season, (thank you Christmas lights), but during the summer months is when you feel the hurtin' (dang air conditioner!).

Well, we're going to have to starting allotting more money in our budget to pay for electricity soon, because ComEd is raising prices...for a beneficial reason.

According to WREX, the Rockford City Council recently approved a plan to bury power lines along 11th Street, and here's the reason why;

City leaders say their corridor study showed that people wanted the polls to move so the area would be easier to walk and bike around.

While this sounds pretty straightforward, it's no surprise that burying power lines is way more expensive than leaving them dangling overhead. The cost difference? A cool $4.46 million.

Will the Entire Rockford Area Be Effected By Higher ComEd Bills?

The short answer is yes, the additional expense will be spread out on ComEd bills across the greater Rockford area, BUT ComEd says it shouldn't be more than an additional dollar or two more each month.

Does that make you feel a little better? I hope so.

Benefits of Burying Power Lines

So, why bury the lines at all? Well, underground power lines are less susceptible to damage from bad weather and animals, meaning fewer outages for Rockford residents. Plus, it frees up space making streets more open for pedestrians and cyclists, not to mention it removes poles that vehicles can crash into.

Still peeved about a slight bump to your ComEd bill? Just think of it as a small investment to make Rockford a nicer place to live.