CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A class action lawsuit filed Monday against ComEd alleges the utility company overcharged customers by $150 million through rate increases it got as a result of a bribery scheme.
Ten days ago, ComEd admitted it took part in a bribery scheme linked to Illinois elected officials and agreed to pay a $200 million settlement.
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Attorney Adam Levitt said now that ComEd has admitted to taking part in a federal bribery scheme, it’s time for them to make things right with their customers.
“Even though ComEd has already paid a $200 million fine, not a penny of that is going to the ComEd ratepayer,” Levitt told reporters Tuesday. “Our goal is to help four-plus million Illinois ratepayers get those funds back.”
ComEd “unjustly enriched itself by overcharging its 4 million customers in Illinois for years,” the law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, said in a statement.
The class action suit filed this week is on behalf of three residents and three businesses who claim they’re among those who have been unjustly overcharged since 2011, the same year prosecutors have claimed ComEd’s bribery scheme began.
“There’s absolutely no question that Commonwealth Edison has a systematic problem with telling the truth,” said Attorney Stephan Blandin. “They have acknowledged that they have received over $150 million in benefit as a result of this bribery scheme.”
Both attorneys said work is now underway to determine just how much each ComEd customer is owed.