Illustrative Case: Six-Store Illinois Dispensary Chain Fixes Supply Before Expansion

The facility and starting situation

Assume a privately held operator with six open dispensaries in the Chicago suburbs, each on its own ComEd account in PJM [il-plugin-illinois]. Every store is a leased storefront between 3,500 and 5,500 square feet. None share a meter with a neighbor. IDFPR issued 93 operational dispensary licenses in FY2025, the most in any year, and describes a more than 100 percent increase in dispensary count over two years [il-annual-cannabis-report-2025]. This chain opened its first store in 2022 and added five more by early 2025, always signing the lease first and asking about electricity second.

Each store runs display lighting, HVAC sized for humid Illinois summers, 24-hour security, and reach-in refrigeration. Statewide normals are 6,105 heating degree days and 889 cooling degree days, with summer dew points in the 60s and 70s F [noaa-cag-illinois]. Rooftop units work hard from June through September. All six accounts sit in ComEd's Small Load delivery class, 0 to 100 kW peak demand, where distribution is billed per kWh rather than per kW [comed-delivery-charges-guide].

At the start of this example every store took bundled default supply from ComEd. No one tracked the Purchased Electricity Adjustment line. The CFO planned three additional conditional licenses for 2026 and wanted a per-store energy number that would not move every June and October when IPA procurement resets the default price [plugin-ptc-comed].

What the baseline bills showed

The table uses one representative store, then scales to six. Assumed usage is an input; tariff rates are cited.

Line item	Assumption or rate	One store (monthly)	Six stores (monthly)
Floor area	4,200 sq ft
Peak demand	38 kW (assumed)	38 kW	228 kW combined
Usage	11,500 kWh	11,500 kWh	69,000 kWh
Delivery class	ComEd Small Load [comed-delivery-charges-guide]	Small Load	Small Load
Distribution facilities charge	$0.03309 per kWh [comed-delivery-charges-guide]	$380	$2,283
Customer and metering	$23.69 + $3.02 [comed-delivery-charges-guide]	$26.71	$160
Default supply + transmission	Modeled 10.6 cents per kWh	$1,219	$7,314
Purchased Electricity Adjustment	Modeled +$0.003 to −$0.002 per kWh swing	±$35	±$210
Modeled total per store		~$1,660	~$9,960

Annualized for six stores: roughly 828,000 kWh and about $120,000 a year at the modeled all-in rate. That is in line with the EIA June 2026 Illinois commercial average of 14.53 cents per kWh applied to the same usage, about $120,300 [eia-epm-5-6-a]. The US commercial average was 14.19 cents in the same period [eia-epm-5-6-a], so Illinois was slightly above national, not an outlier.

ComEd's published summer 2026 Price to Compare is 10.399 cents per kWh for residential default service, combining 8.677 cents supply and 1.722 cents transmission for June through September [plugin-ptc-comed]. That figure is residential; Small Load business supply is priced on a separate procurement schedule. The operator's actual bills averaged closer to the modeled 10.6 cents once transmission and PEA true-ups were included.

What changed

The operator ran a structured procurement instead of signing the first postcard offer.

Portfolio RFP to ICC-certified suppliers. All six account numbers, twelve months of usage, and meter ownership confirmations went out in one package. Illinois allows all non-residential ComEd customers to buy supply from an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier [il-plugin-illinois]. The winning bid was a 36-month fixed price at 9.4 cents per kWh for energy, with capacity and transmission structured as a fixed adder of 1.1 cents, for 10.5 cents all-in on supply-side lines. Each store kept a single bill from ComEd with the supplier charge embedded, which Plug In Illinois lists as an option [plugin-faq].

Timing before expansion. Contracts were signed in April 2026, before summer cooling load and before buildout on three new stores. That let the operator budget new locations at a known supply number instead of the default path.

Per-store class verification. Two stores had peak demand readings above 45 kW in July. The operator had LED retrofits quoted through ComEd's business efficiency program before any store crossed 101 kW into Medium Load, where a per-kW distribution charge begins [comed-delivery-charges-guide] [comed-ee-business]. One flagship location in a power center shared a panel with a restaurant on a separate meter; the lease audit confirmed no submeter conflict.

PEA elimination. Customers on supplier contracts are not subject to the utility's Purchased Electricity Adjustment [il-plugin-illinois]. Removing that monthly true-up stripped volatility from the CFO's model even when the fixed price was not the lowest headline rate available.

The Illinois switching guide covers enrollment mechanics. The fixed vs. index vs. block-and-index page explains why this operator rejected index offers.

The math after

Compare the modeled default path to the fixed portfolio contract over 828,000 kWh a year across six stores.

Component	Before (annual, six stores)	After (annual, six stores)	Notes
ComEd delivery	~$29,000	~$29,000	Unchanged; per-kWh class
Default supply + transmission	~$88,000 at 10.6 cents		Includes modeled PEA noise
Fixed supply + transmission		~$87,000 at 10.5 cents	36-month term
PEA true-ups	~±$1,500/year modeled	$0	Removed on supplier supply [il-plugin-illinois]
Modeled supply-side total	~$88,000	~$87,000
Modeled all-in	~$120,000	~$116,000	~$4,000/year

On a per-store basis, 1.1 cents per kWh on 138,000 kWh annual average is about $1,520 a year. For nine stores after expansion, assuming the three new locations match the same usage profile, the same spread is roughly $4,500 a year in supply-side savings alone, before any efficiency work.

Delivery stayed flat because Small Load customers pay $0.03309 per kWh for distribution facilities in this tariff snapshot [comed-delivery-charges-guide], not a demand charge. That is why dispensary procurement focuses on supply and on not crossing into Medium Load, not on interval scheduling.

The operator also gained budget certainty worth more than the raw cents. A fixed number for three years simplified investor reporting. Default supply would have reset on IPA procurement cycles and continued to carry PEA adjustments [plugin-ptc-comed] [il-plugin-illinois].

What did not work

A short index contract at one store. Before the portfolio RFP, the operator piloted a monthly index price at the oldest store. When MISO day-ahead prices spiked during a July heat wave, that bill beat the default by only $40 and scared the store manager. The pilot was not renewed.

Community solar on two leased locations. Illinois Shines includes community solar subscriptions [illinois-shines]. Two landlords declined credit-assignment paperwork; a third roof failed structural review.

Centralizing meters. ComEd delivery accounts are tied to premises; merging six stores would require re-wiring and landlord consent at every site. The supplier aggregated financially in the contract instead.

Delaying LED work. One store at 52 kW peak was trending toward Medium Load within two summers. Supply savings did not fix that; only load reduction would.

Aggregated supply across ComEd territories

Multi-store Illinois operators may aggregate ComEd and Ameren meters under one supplier master agreement if credit clears. Delivery still bills locally per utility. Portfolio spreadsheet should track each store's price to compare reset independently [il-plugin-illinois].

PEA exclusion on supplier accounts

Alternative retail electric supplier customers on ComEd are not subject to the Purchased Electricity Adjustment that moves default supply monthly [il-plugin-illinois]. Chain operators modeling store-level savings should use contract all-in supply against published Price to Compare, not assume PEA behavior continues after enrollment.

Store-by-store Price to Compare

ComEd and Ameren publish separate price to compare values [il-plugin-illinois]. A chain with stores in both territories needs two benchmarks when evaluating a single supplier's multi-meter proposal. Delivery charges remain local to each utility bill.

Ameren store enrollment timing

Ameren Illinois price to compare resets on a different calendar than ComEd [il-plugin-illinois]. Chain RFP should specify start read date per utility territory, not one national start date for all Illinois meters.

PEA exclusion reminder for store managers

Alternative retail electric supplier customers on ComEd are not subject to monthly Purchased Electricity Adjustment on default supply lines [il-plugin-illinois]. Train store managers to expect different supply line labels after enrollment while delivery lines stay familiar.

Lessons that transfer to other Illinois dispensary operators

Treat supply as a portfolio decision once you have more than two stores. Illinois grants full commercial choice on ComEd and Ameren [il-plugin-illinois]. Compare all-in supply, not the postcard kWh rate; the Price to Compare is a benchmark, not a contract offer [plugin-ptc-comed]. Watch the 100 kW ComEd threshold, where Medium Load adds a per-kW charge [comed-delivery-charges-guide]. Fix meter ownership in the lease before you open [plugin-faq]. Sign a fixed price before you add stores so pro formas use a known marginal cost. See the dispensary retail energy page and the FAQ on supplier choice.