The Illinois Appellate Court Monday rejected Commonwealth Edison Co.`s request to stop a rollback of the utility`s 1989 rate increase, clearing the way for lower electricity bills starting this month.
Without comment, a three-judge panel of the Appellate Court rejected Edison`s request to temporarily put off the rollback, ordered last week by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
The commission ordered Edison to roll back its rates and to refund about $400 million collected from the 1989 rate increase, which the Illinois Supreme Court declared illegal last December.
The rollback will reduce bills of Edison`s residential customers about 6 percent. Business customers` bills also will be reduced.
Edison has agreed that it must pay the $400 million in refunds, which will appear as credits on July through December bills. An average residential customer will receive credits totaling about $70.
