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From Your Kitchen to Michigan Avenue: Refrigerators and Art Converge

CHICAGO, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning Monday, pedestrians along Michigan Avenue will be in for a cool surprise when they encounter a new art exhibit sponsored by ComEd: Fine Art Fridges. The display, which runs through September 15, features recycled refrigerators that have been transformed into works of art.

Fine Art Fridges depicts themes ranging from Chicago architecture to a celebration of flowers. In one of the pieces, artist VooDoo Larry Grobe has transformed a vintage 1950s Philco fridge into a jazzy "VooDoo Hot Rod." In another, Nicole Beck celebrates wildlife in a mosaic tribute to endangered life in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nine pieces designed by Chicago-area artists will be displayed on the sidewalk along the Magnificent Mile between Chicago Avenue and Illinois Street.

The exhibit was created to raise awareness for ComEd's Appliance Recycling Program, through which ComEd will haul away your old, second working refrigerator or freezer free of charge. In return, customers receive $25.00 per appliance. To date, the program has removed more than 43,000 inefficient appliances from the market.

"Fine Art Fridges is a fresh approach to our ongoing efforts to educate our customers through our Smart Ideas(sm) portfolio of options that can help customers save money by becoming more energy efficient," said president and COO Anne Pramaggiore. "Many households have an extra working refrigerator or freezer in their basement or garage. What they may not know is that older refrigerator appliances can use up to five times more energy than their energy-efficient equivalents. Continued usage of an older model can result in $150 per year in extra electricity costs."

The specific Michigan Avenue exhibit locations are:

    -- Tiffany's                  -- Cole Hann
    -- Saks                       -- Coach
    -- Chicago Place              -- Aldo
    -- Omni Hotel                 -- Grand Lux Cafe
    -- Garmin

To learn more about ComEd's Fine Art Fridge exhibit, Refrigerator Recycling Program, please visit: www.comed.com. For energy saving tips, please visit www.comed.com/smartideas.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

SOURCE ComEd