We’re fighting the utilities in nearly $1 billion in rate-hike battles, but a review of their parent companies’ 2nd quarter earnings would have more than a few Illinois consumers scratching their heads as to why the companies need all that extra cash.
The parent companies of ComEd, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Nicor Gas, Ameren, AT&T and Frontier raked in a combined total profit of $4.28 billion for the second quarter.
Here’s a breakdown by individual company:
AT&T: $3.5 billion
Exelon (ComEd’s parent): $522 million
Ameren: $150 million
Frontier: $37.68 million
AGL Resources (Nicor Gas parent): $64 million
Integrys Energy Group (Peoples/North Shore Gas parent): $7.2 million (Note: The company says higher winter operating costs impacted earnings, but it still made nearly $160 million over the first six months.)
Facing utility profits like this, it’s no wonder that CUB gets testimonials like this from Illinois consumers who’ve joined our Consumer Defense Fund:
- “My heating gas this year has made me consider selling my family home.”
- “I live on my Social Security check. All these (rate hikes) make it even harder to survive.”
- “This has been a mean winter. But the utilities have not been this happy for a long time…They are punishing renters and poor working people.”
- “Please, please do whatever you can. So many of us depend on an organization such as yours.”
You bet, we will. “We’re poring over every penny of these hikes and we will fight to cut unjustified spending as much as possible,” CUB Board President Robert Craig Neff said.
Visit our Rate-hike Fighter’s Center to see all the battles we face.
