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Good news! IL consumer savings up to $20 billion!

For years, CUB has claimed that it helped save consumers more than $10 billion by blocking rate hikes and securing refunds. Well, we were wrong.

The more accurate figure is $20 billion.

To commemorate CUB’s 30th anniversary, the watchdog updated the savings numbers and found, in fact, that the total figure is much higher. After months of research, correcting savings estimates from old cases and adding the impact of more recent cases, CUB discovered that it was being too conservative in evaluating its success.

Today, we presented the new figure to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), which confirmed CUB’s findings.

“As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, it’s nice to get official recognition of all our hard work,” CUB Associate Director Pat Clark said. “Thank you to all the Illinois consumers who have supported us over the years.”

The 30 years of big victories listed below don’t include all the victories we’ve won for individual consumers among some 9,000 utility complaints we get each year, as well as the savings consumers have gained through our free online tools. Here’s the list:

Centel refund/rate cut, 1986: $2,000,000

Blocked Nicor Gas rate hike, secured refund, 1987: $40,000,000

Peoples/North Shore Gas rate cut/refund, 1987: $27,000,000

ComEd rate deal rejected, 1987: $1,320,000,000

Overturned ComEd rate hike, 1987: $245,000,000

Illinois Power rate deal blocked, 1988: $3,000,000,000

ComEd rate deal overturned, 1989: $750,000,000

ComEd rate case settlement, 1993: $1,679,000,000

Ameritech rate cut, 1994: $465,000,000

10-year rate cut under electric restructuring law, 1997: $6,288,124,185

ComEd customer assistance fund, 2000: $400,000

CILCO refund, 2001: $20,400,000

Ameritech merger savings settlement credit, 2002: $224,000,000

Verizon merger savings settlement credit, 2003: $139,686,512

Blocked ComEd/IP merger/rate-hike legislation, 2003: $2,000,000,000

SBC voicemail class action settlement, 2004: $40,000,000

Peoples Gas/Enron refund, 2006: $100,000,000

Cut ComEd rate hike, 2005: $262,455,000

Cut Peoples/North Shore Gas rate hike, 2007: $32,267,000

Cut Ameren electric rate hike, 2007: $58,342,000

Cut ComEd rate hike, 2007: $87,761,000

Ameren/ComEd refunds after power auction abolished, 2007: $1,001,000,000

Cut Nicor Gas rate hike,2008: $72,237,000

Cut Ameren gas/electric rate hike, 2009: $118,618,000

Cut Peoples/North Shore Gas rate hike, 2009: $58,717,000

Cut ComEd rate hike, 2010: $218,793,000

Illinois Power Agency procurement savings, 2009-11: $1,639,663,226

Cut Peoples/North Shore Gas rate hike, 2011: $61,504,000

Cut Peoples/North Shore Gas rate hike, 2012: $40,920,000

Nicor Gas refund, 2013: $72,149,519

Total savings: $20.065 billion