ComEd Smart Meters Help Provide Small Businesses More Convenience, Savings And Control

Providing you with better service and greater control over your business's energy use. These are some of the reasons ComEd is investing in a modernized electric system to build a more reliable smart grid. Smart meters are important building blocks of the smart grid and will be installed at all businesses across northern Illinois by the end of 2018. Here's a look at the benefits ComEd smart meters offer small businesses like yours.

What Are Smart Meters?

Smart meters are the next evolution of meters that electric companies have used for decades to monitor energy usage within the areas they serve. Smart meters are digital devices that securely transmit encrypted energy-usage data to ComEd. To find out if you have a smart meter, or when smart meter installations are planned for your area, visit ComEd.com/SmartMeterMap.

How Smart Meters Benefit Small Businesses

• Since smart meters automatically send energy-usage data to ComEd, they help eliminate the number of estimated bills you will receive. They also reduce the need for a meter reader to visit your building or business and request access to your facilities.
   
• Smart meters help ComEd monitor and respond to power disruptions faster than ever before. Consequently, there will be fewer outages and those that occur will be shorter in duration. That helps prevent the loss of perishable inventory and temporary interruptions in operations.
   
• After creating an online account at ComEd.com/MyAccount, you can conveniently access hourly, daily and monthly energy-usage information to help you learn how to control energy use and save.
   
• Smart meters allow ComEd to accelerate the process of transferring utility service from one location to another within the company's service area. That increase in set-up times creates operational efficiencies, which results in savings that are passed on to all customers.
   
• As a small-business owner, you can also use ComEd's free Business Energy Analyzer (BEA) to better understand your business's energy use, and find new ways to lower electric bills. BEA gives you the ability to view your energy use month-to-month or year-to-year and compare your usage patterns to similar businesses. It also offers personalized energy efficiency recommendations along with estimates on the amount of money each recommendation could save. The Business Energy Analyzer tool is available at ComEd.com/BEA.

Want to learn more about how smart meter-enabled tools and programs can help your small business? Contact ComEd at 866-368-8326 or visit ComEd.com/BizSmartMeter.

For more tips and inspiration for small business owners,
visit CBS Small Business Pulse Chicago.