As high gasoline prices and rising energy costs continue to chomp into the household budgets of so many Illinois residents, alternate electric suppliers are swiftly becoming an opportune refuge from the financial strain across the state.

Electric Deregulation is nothing new to the Land of Lincoln – the first steps of the IL electric market shift actually began in 1997. But with a series of price spikes, energy market surges, combined with rising gas prices and an array of growing pains, Illinois residents are feeling the squeeze.

With summer in full swing (representing the peak season of energy use), residents in the fifth most populous state in the nation are carefully considering all the options to keep some extra green in their pockets.

As the national average electricity price sits around the 12 cent per kwh mark, Illinois consumers are starting to listen more closely to the call to switch electric suppliers which could be a welcome avenue for some savings.

As a welcome advent, the alternative retail electric suppliers in the deregulated zones of Illinois are all too willing to help fatten those wallets.  Several of the providers have launched aggressive campaigns to raise awareness about the electric choice program for Illinois residents, prompting even more providers to jump on the bandwagon and compete amidst the rising demand for lower electricity prices.

This summer could mark one of the biggest ‘switching seasons’ for Illinois since 2008, when the ‘post-transition phase’ of IL deregulation arrived with residents pining for the promised reductions in their electric bills while prices surged, after a decade of waiting.

Another likely factor contributing to the seemingly contagious ‘switch fever’ could be the rate increase imposed by the primary utility in Illinois, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). Having raised their prices just as summer kicked off on June 1st,  ComEd may very well lose customers to retail electric suppliers – some of which are offering upwards of 15% off the ComEd rates.

Since deregulation began in Illinois in 1998, a paltry 83,000 residential customers have switched away from ComEd, leaving the utility with its lion’s share of 3.8 million patrons. These numbers could change drastically – and quickly, however; especially as so many alternative retail suppliers ramp up efforts and strike while the iron is hot.

If you’re a residential Illinois electricity customer, and that familiar ComEd logo still adorns your electric bill (along with a higher-than-average price per kwh), then it’s time to seriously consider switching. Even if you just switch to a variable plan long enough to get a low rate through the summer months, don’t pass up this opportunity to swap that empty wallet for a fat one.