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Humanize energy differently by region
Base's early marketing was very Texas-focused. Becoming America's Power Company means localizing the approach. Texas taught Base to earn trust and humanize energy, and the way to do that changes region by region. Base's Illinois website shows a classic Midwestern brick home with a kid playing baseball in the backyard, and more launches with their own looks are coming in the next few months.
The value proposition shifts too. Base's core offering everywhere is affordable, reliable power, but Chicago veers more affordable and Texas veers more reliable. Texas has been rocked by outages, while ComEd, the utility that covers Chicago, has seen its all-in residential rate climb to 17.07 cents per kWh, up roughly 90% from about 9 cents in 2021, and PJM wholesale power has become dramatically more expensive.
Why have PJM wholesale prices risen so much?
PJM runs the grid and wholesale power markets across the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest, including northern Illinois. Its capacity auction, which pays for power plants to stay available, cleared at about $270 per megawatt-day for the 2025/26 delivery year, up from about $29 the year before. PJM and market analysts pointed to retiring power plants and growing demand, including from data centers. The auction's results flow into the rates utilities charge customers.
Why do outages shape what customers want?
Customers who have been through long blackouts weigh reliability heavily, while customers facing rising bills weigh price. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 left millions of Texans without power for days. The Texas Department of State Health Services counted 246 deaths from the storm. Texas has therefore tended to prize backup power more than regions with steadier grids.
How is electricity sold in Chicago?
Illinois opened retail electricity supply to competition under a 1997 law. ComEd still delivers power over its wires, even when a customer buys supply from another company. The delivery charge is regulated, while the supply charge can come from a competitive retailer or from the utility's default service. Customers see both charges on one bill.