Quick answer
Sometimes, but read the terms. In these deals an electricity supplier installs and owns a battery at your home and you switch to its supply plan, often for 12 to 15 years. Exit fees can reach $15,000, backup isn't guaranteed, and one offer bars adding solar. Buying a battery costs more upfront, but you own it and ComEd or Ameren pay about $300 per kWh toward it.
How do battery-plus-supply offers work?
An alternative retail electric supplier installs a whole-home battery at your house, and you enroll in its electricity supply plan. The company owns and operates the battery for the length of the agreement and uses it in its own programs; you host it. ComEd still delivers your power and sends the bill, with the supplier's price in the supply section.
The Citizens Utility Board says two companies offered these deals to Illinois homeowners as of mid-2026, only to ComEd customers in select neighborhoods, not in Ameren territory.
What are the terms and fees?
| Offer A | Offer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery agreement | Host the battery for 12 years | 15-year battery services agreement |
| Supply plan | Time-of-use plan, 2-year term at least 25% below ComEd's Price to Compare, then auto-renews at a price that meets or beats it | Time-of-use plan with a 5-year term, guaranteed to beat the Price to Compare at each renewal |
| Upfront cost | $95 for the first 2,000 ComEd-area customers, $295 standard | Installed at no cost |
| Early termination | $500 if the company recovers the battery; fair market value if it can't | $500; $15,000 if you cancel and keep the battery |
| Rooftop solar | Not addressed in CUB's summary | Not eligible during the term without written agreement |
Read the addenda that come with the supply contract. CUB notes that charging the battery from the grid can add to the delivery charges on your bill, and that both companies give a credit in the supply section to offset it.
Will the battery keep my power on in an outage?
Not with certainty. CUB says backup power under these offers is not 100 percent guaranteed, because the company decides how the battery is used day to day. If whole-home backup is the main reason you want a battery, owning one lets you set how much charge stays in reserve. See whole-home battery backup.
How does this compare with buying a battery?
| Supplier battery deal | Owning a battery | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Little or nothing | Full price, minus the utility storage rebate |
| Who owns and controls it | The supplier | You |
| Commitment | 12 to 15 years, tied to a supply plan | Five summers in the utility's virtual power plant to get the rebate |
| Backup reserve | Not guaranteed | You choose |
| Rooftop solar | Restricted in at least one offer | Pairs with solar and stores it for evening use |
| If you sell the house | Buyer takes over the agreement, or you may owe a fee | Stays with the home as part of the sale |
When you own the battery, ComEd and Ameren pay about $300 per kWh of capacity, about $4,050 for one 13.5 kWh battery, if you enroll it in their virtual power plant. See what a home battery costs and ComEd and Ameren virtual power plants.
What should I check before signing a supplier battery deal?
- The full contract length for both the battery and the supply plan, and what the supply price becomes after any introductory term.
- Every exit fee in writing, including what you owe if you move and the buyer doesn't take over the agreement.
- How much charge is held for backup, and whether that's guaranteed.
- Whether you can add rooftop solar during the term.
- Your current supply price. CUB warns that alternative supply plans have not typically saved residential customers money, and estimates Illinois consumers lost $2 billion to alternative suppliers since 2015. Compare offers against the Price to Compare.
Already have solar? Switching suppliers means re-enrolling in net metering with the new supplier, and Illinois Shines notes some suppliers limit net metering or don't offer it. See ComEd Hourly Pricing and time-of-use rates for utility plans that reward a battery without a long supplier contract.
Sources
- Citizens Utility Board: Q&A on battery electricity supply offers in Illinois (July 2026)
- Citizens Utility Board: Alternative supplier battery offers comparison (2026)
- BusinessWire: Battery supply offer launches in ComEd territory (June 2026)
- Arbor: ComEd home battery offer
- Citizens Utility Board: Alternative supplier warning for ComEd customers (June 2026)
- Illinois Shines: Distributed generation consumer flyer (2026)
- Illinois Shines: Net metering and electricity suppliers
- ComEd: Distributed generation and storage rebates
- Ameren Illinois: DER Bulletin 2026-04 (storage rebate and virtual power plant)
This guide is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Incentive programs change, so confirm current terms with your installer, your utility and a tax professional.