A response to the letter concerning Commonwealth Edison service that Crystal Lake resident Paul Greenlee sent to the city fathers and mothers:

Mr. Greenlee:

The purpose of this email is to confirm that the City has received your email and that it is being forwarded to the Mayor and City Council. I also wanted to let you know some of the things that the City is doing with regard to ComEd.

The City shares the concerns you expressed in your email.

On august 3, 2010, this 0Com Ed truck was on the scene.

Since the storm on July 11th, the City has been in constant contact with representatives from ComEd to ensure that the City of Crystal Lake remains a priority for ComEd.

On Wednesday, July 13th, at the urging of the City, Mayor Aaron Shepley and City Manager Gary Mayerhofer met with the President and Chief Operating Officer of ComEd, Anne Pramaggiore, in the City’s Emergency Operation Center.

State Senator Pamela Althoff was very helpful in coordinating this meeting, during which Mayor Shepley indicated to Ms. Pramaggiore

• that the resources devoted to Crystal Lake were insufficient,
• that more resources need to be devoted, and
• that there needed to be a greater level of transparency and information sharing.

In response, Ms. Pramaggiore began contacting other ComEd representatives directly from the City’s Emergency Operation Center, which accelerated the number of crews made available to Crystal Lake after the July 11th storm.

In addition to our informal contacts with ComEd, the City will be submitting testimony at the House Public Utilities Committee Hearing scheduled for August 16th at 10:00 a.m. in Highland Park, IL.

The House Public Utilities Committee has scheduled a subject matter hearing to receive input from local government and the public regarding power outages in northeastern Illinois. Here is a link for more information regarding this event, if you are interested in attending.

Since ComEd is regulated by the State of Illinois, the City will continue to work with our local State officials to press for the dedication of greater resources in Crystal Lake. Should you have any other questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

George J. Koczwara
Deputy City Manager
City of Crystal Lake