A class action lawsuit has accused electrical utility ComEd and its parent company, Exelon Corp., of essentially supplying the region with "less efficient" electricity, of "diminished quality," because the electricity allegedly arrives in homes and businesses from the grid with too much so-called "harmonic distortion."
On Nov. 22, attorneys from the firms of Kazerouni Law Group, of Costa Mesa, California; The Dixon Firm, of San Diego; and Diab Chambers LLP, of San Diego, filed suit against ComEd and Exelon in Cook County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of named plaintiff Regina McCray, identified as a resident of Cook County and a ComEd residential customer.
The lawsuit centers on claims concerning allegedly excessive levels of "total harmonic disruption" (THD) allegedly measured in electricity delivered by ComEd.
According to the complaint, excessive THD can allegedly damage electrical systems and devices over time, allegedly including causing lights to flicker, motors and transformers to overheat and interference in phone systems.
"THD can also result in interference with sensitive electronic devices, or result in the degradation of cable insulation and electronic components over time," the lawsuit said.
"THD ultimately impacts the quality of power an individual is receiving, ultimately resulting in less efficient energy."
The complaint likened THD to potholes on a road, which, if left unmaintained, can shorten the life of vehicles driving on those roads. Similarly, the complaint asserts electrical grids delivering allegedly excessive THD can cause damage to the devices and homes drawing power from those sources.
According to the complaint, the allegedly high levels of THD in ComEd's network was measured by a network of sensors and devices , manufactured by Whisker Labs and installed in homes in ComEd's northern Illinois service area.
According to the complaint, those devices include the so-called Ting sensor, which is plugged into a home electrical outlet with the goal of monitoring that home's electricial system for arcs or sparks, which could signal potential risk of electrical fires or damage to devices in the home.
According to the complaint, Whisker Labs reportedly updated its firmware for Ting sensors in January 2024, purportedly enabling the sensors to measure THD in the electricity delivered to the home in which Ting sensors are installed.
According to the complaint, the firmware update also enabled Ting users to collectively monitor THD across an entire electrical grid in which those sensors are located.
The complaint asserts ComEd's service territory was among a group of so-called THD hotspots detected by the collective Ting sensor network.
The complaint alleges ComEd's allegedly excessive THD levels originate from the complex nature of the modern electrical grid, which does not draw power from just one generating source for a particular region, but from many different points.
The "omnidirectional" nature of power generation in the current system helps to "introduce noise and power quality issues ... in the form of harmonics, or harmonic distortion," the lawsuit asserts.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim ComEd "knows that providing electricity with voltage THD levels above the standard results in diminished power quality and less efficient energy being provided to its customers..."
However, the lawsuit asserts ComEd and Exelon allegedly continue "to provide electricity to its customers ... that is of a diminished quality and less efficient."
The plaintiffs assert ComEd's alleged actions amount to violations of Illinois' Deceptive Trade Practices Act and state consumer fraud law, among other counts.
The plaintiffs are seeking to expand the action to include potentially millions of ComEd customers dating back to Nov. 22, 2019.
They are seeking unspecified compensatory damages and restitution, among other money damages, as well as injunctions against ComEd.
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Exelon said:
“ComEd strongly questions the accuracy and underlying assumptions of Whisker Lab’s claims. Ting devices are installed in the home and do not directly measure harmonics on the grid.
"ComEd serves over four million customers and our power quality falls within Illinois regulatory standards. ComEd has smart meters deployed with each of our customers to collect real-time data, and we also employ a power quality team focused on identifying and rectifying power quality issues quickly.”
ComEd has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Abbas Kazerounian, of the Kazerouni firm; Deborah Dixon, of the Dixon Firm; and Ed Diab, Robert Chambers and Kristen Barton, of Diab Chambers.