CUB has been getting calls about a line-item on ComEd bills called the Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment, or CFRA. Over its first year on ComEd bills, the CFRA delivered a total of about $2.4 billion in credits to consumers. But this summer the CFRA became a charge. Here’s some background. What…...
Alert: Having trouble with your energy bills? LIHEAP reopens Oct. 2
As we head into the winter heating season, CUB urges eligible consumers to apply for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding. The application process reopens. Oct. 2. Here’s the schedule for this fall: Oct. 2: LIHEAP begins taking applications for seniors (age 60 or older), people with disabilities…...
Update on record-breaking rate hikes in 2023
By Eric DeBellis CUB General Counsel Regulatory Counsel Laura Loyd and I are dealing with a record six rate cases, totaling a whopping $2.9 billion. Where do the rate cases stand? Over the past year, CUB has filed expert testimony uncovering the utilities’ attempts to get state regulators to approve…...
CUB asks Illinois consumers to support the Ethics in Energy Act
It’s bad enough that utilities join industry and trade groups that push bad, anti-consumer policy. But it’s even worse that consumers actually foot the bill for those activities. That’s right, our monthly gas and electric bills help cover the utilities’ membership dues to groups that actively work against our interests. …...
Consumer advocates to Illinois utilities: Pause shut-offs in storm-ravaged areas
Consumer advocates are calling on utilities across the state–including Ameren Illinois, Commonwealth Edison, Peoples Gas and Nicor Gas–to issue a moratorium on utility shut-offs and offer special assistance to help residents of areas ravaged by extreme summer weather. Leaders from a number of advocacy groups, including the Citizens Utility Board…...
Check out July gas prices–more head-scratching at CUB
Illinois utilities have filed their July gas prices with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and they’re fairly consistent with what we saw in June. One big exception: Consumers Gas has its prices rising 185 percent in just one month. As we reported in June, the volatility of the gas market often…...
CUB, MREA, Chicagoland counties partner to offer deep discounts on solar panels, future savings on power bills
A unique partnership among five Chicagoland counties, nonprofit advocates and expert solar professionals will educate consumers on how they can install solar panels at some of the deepest discounts in the state, CUB said Monday as the program launched. The Solar Switch program, formerly called Grow Solar Chicagoland, is a…...
Summer power prices for Ameren and ComEd
Ameren Illinois and ComEd supply customers will be paying new prices for electricity on June 1, as market prices ease. Prices skyrocketed last year, caused by a number of factors, including the volatility of the natural gas market, made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gas, which is often…...
