LIHEAP

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Contact: ComEd Media Relations

312-394-3500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ComEd Reminds Customers to Apply for LIHEAP Bill Assistance

by May 31 Deadline

ComEd connects eligible families to grants, offers enhanced bill-assistance options

and more ways to access them

CHICAGO (May 19, 2022) – With the May 31 application deadline approaching for the Low

Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal program that helps

families with energy costs, ComEd encourages eligible Illinois families and individuals to

apply now while funding is available.

While ComEd’s average monthly residential bills remain among the lowest in the country,

the impacts of the pandemic and inflation have created economic challenges for some

households. That is why, by contacting ComEd, representatives can help connect eligible

customers to funding available through LIHEAP and other state and federal assistance

programs. In addition to state and federal assistance, ComEd also offers bill support through

its Supplemental Arrearage Reduction Program (SARP), which is available to ComEd

residential customers who qualified to receive energy-assistance benefits from LIHEAP.

“Each year, we run the risk of energy-assistance funding going unclaimed because Illinois

residents think they don’t qualify for grants,” said Melissa Washington, ComEd's chief

customer officer and senior vice president of customer operations. “We encourage all our

customers to contact ComEd immediately so we can help them determine if they’re eligible

for financial assistance. If not, ComEd has a number of enhanced bill-payment options to

support families of all income levels.”

To make families and individuals aware of energy bill assistance options available and

connect them to the assistance they need, ComEd works with community organizations to

host assistance events. For a list of event times and locations, visit ComEd.com/LocalEvents.

Any customer experiencing difficulty paying their electric bill is encouraged to call ComEd

immediately at 1-800-334-7661 (1-800-EDISON-1), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to

7 p.m. to learn more on how to apply. Information on each of these options is available at

ComEd.com/PaymentAssistance.

Enhanced bill-payment options

In addition to financial-assistance options, ComEd offers residential customers the following

payment programs. Visit ComEd.com/Eligibility for eligibility guidelines and to apply.

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• A more flexible and generous deferred payment arrangement of up to 12 months

with zero dollars down through July 31, 2022, for low-income customers. All other

residential customers who contact ComEd can sign up for a deferred payment

arrangement of up to 12 months with 10-percent down through July 31, 2022.

• For any ComEd residential customer who has had service disconnected, but

subsequently enrolls in LIHEAP or a Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP),

ComEd will waive reconnection fees through July 31, 2022.

• Budget billing, which provides a predictable monthly payment based on your

electricity usage from the last 12 months.

• Flexible payment options like due-date extensions.

• High-usage alerts, which enable customers to receive alerts when their usage is

trending higher than normal to help manage overall energy use, and energymanagement tips to help customers manage energy use to save money now and on

future energy bills.

Easier access to assistance and energy-saving options

To streamline access to financial-assistance options and programs that can help families and

individuals manage their electric bills, ComEd recently launched the Smart Assistance

Manager (SAM).

SAM is an online self-service tool that can match customers with the payment-assistance

programs for which they may eligible – including deferred-payment arrangements and

LIHEAP – then provides guidance and links to apply. SAM also provides recommendations

on energy-efficiency offerings that can save customers money and energy, including free

home energy assessments and discounts on energy-saving products.

Support options are generated based on each customer’s household information, such as

energy usage and billing history. Customers who create an online account with ComEd

through the “My Account” tool can log in while using SAM to get even more personalized,

targeted results. Customers can access this free tool at ComEd.com/SAM.

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ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy

company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of

customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern

Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com and connect

with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Com ed Scam alert!

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Mobile Payment App Scams on the Rise, ComEd and Better Business Bureau Warn Utility Customers Scammers used payment networks like Cash App, QuickPay, Venmo and Zelle to bilk families and businesses out of more than $27,000 in January 2022 CHICAGO (Feb. 24, 2022) – The popularity of mobile payment apps like Cash App and Venmo is giving rise to incidents of scammers using these digital networks to bilk ComEd customers out of their hard-earned money. ComEd urges customers to be aware of these new scam attempts so they identify and avoid them. In January 2022, ComEd received more than 240 reports of scams from customers, a more than 150-percent increase from January 2021. Even worse, the amount of money reported lost to successful scams rose dramatically to more than $27,000 in January 2022, 20 times more than January 2021. Scammers are contacting ComEd customers by phone, although some contacts can be made by text or email, demanding payment to a particular account under the threat of immediate service disconnection. The imposter will instruct the customer to use a mobile payment app, which often have higher transaction limits than pre-paid cash cards. “The ease of using mobile pay apps has made the process of scamming customers more efficient for imposters,” said Melissa Washington, ComEd’s chief customer officer and senior vice president of customer operations. “As scammers alter their schemes, ComEd will be there to alert customers of the latest attempts to con them out of money and personal information.” “Scammers keep adding new tools like payment apps to take advantage of unsuspecting victims,” said Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Along with impersonating utility representatives, there are fake calls and emails from the IRS, Social Security, and other government officials demanding immediate payments. A lot of scams the BBB sees are based on unconventional payment methods. That is the tip-off to the rip-off. Never give out personal information or send money until you have contacted the company directly to check your account status.” Tips to help identify scams 1. ComEd will never call or come to a customer’s home or business to:

2 • Ask for direct payment with a prepaid cash card, cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, or third-party payment app like Cash App, QuickPay, Venmo or Zelle. • Demand immediate payment. • Ask for a ComEd account number or other personal information, such as a Social Security number, driver’s license number or bank information. 2. To identify an actual ComEd employee or communication, remember: • All ComEd field employees wear a uniform with the ComEd logo and visibly display a company ID badge with the logo and employee’s name. ComEd recently changed its logo, so you may continue to see the former ComEd logo on uniforms, badges and vehicles until it is phased out. • Check the name on email or websites and make sure they match the name and address of the company you do business with. Look for misspellings or slight alterations. • Make a call to verify the suspected email or website is from a trusted source. Use a phone number from your personal business records or the company’s official website and not the number provided in the email. ComEd urges anyone who believes they have been a target or victim of a scam to call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON-1 (1-800-334-7661). To learn more visit ComEd.com/ScamAlert. Payment Assistance to Help Customers Avoid Scam Attempts “ComEd takes seriously its responsibility to help our customers protect themselves, and we realize scammers prey on those they suspect may be behind in their bills,” said Washington. “That is why we offer a number of payment-assistance options, including flexible payment options, financial assistance and usage alerts for current bills.” Any customer experiencing a hardship or difficulty with their electric bill should call ComEd immediately at 1-800-334-7661 (1-800-EDISON-1), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to determine which programs may be available to help with past-due balances. For more information, visit ComEd.com/PaymentAssistance. ### ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com and with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. BBB of Chicago and Northern Illinois is a nonprofit organization that has served both consumers and trustworthy businesses for over 95 years and is a part of the IABBB. We help protect consumers from

3 scams and provide a free database for consumers to see business ratings and reviews to find businesses they can trust. We connect consumers with businesses they can trust. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus (IABBB) is the network hub for BBBs in the US, Canada and Mexico. Like BBBs, IABBB is dedicated to fostering honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers – instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all. Please visit BBB.org for more information.