By Samantha Vercellino For years, Atukwe Newell listened to his younger sister (and CUB Staffer) Yami Newell, talk about the benefits of being energy efficient. But he wasn’t sold. Now he’s biting his tongue and singing his sister’s praises after she helped him cut his electricity usage about 50 percent…...
An electric deal from…..Comcast?
By Samantha Vercellino Everybody knows that Comcast bundles cable, Internet and phone services, but did you know the company now sells electricity, too? Recently, a CUB staffer found a pitch for Comcast’s Energy Rewards plan in his email inbox. We decided to take a closer look at the deal. These…...
Smart Grid History: IL’s First Peak Time Savings Hours ever!
When Judy Cashen got the call from ComEd last Thursday morning announcing the summer’s first Peak Time Savings Hours, she jumped into action. The retiree, who lives in Chicago’s Pullman Historic District, turned off her air conditioning unit in order to earn credit back on her bill for cutting energy…...
CUB launches free calculator to help you save!
The electric market just ain’t what it used to be. Proof? A recent ICC report shows that customers with ComEd, the regulated utility, saved $73.4 million more than customers with alternative electric suppliers from May 2014 to May 2015,. That’s a far cry from just two years ago, when consumers saved…...
Electric competition: Not the money saver it once was
The times are a’changing. When electric competition began in northern Illinois, it seemed like a sure bet for savings. ComEd’s price at the time was high and electric customers could easily find deals by shopping the market of unregulated suppliers. But the era of easy savings is over, for now, in…...
Big Mistake: Spark Energy sends erroneous letters to suburban consumers
CUB wants to set the record straight about erroneous information Spark Energy has mailed to some Chicago-area residents. The Journal & Topics Newspapers reported that Buffalo Grove put out a news release about the alternative electricity supplier’s “false aggregation notice.” And Arlington Heights resident and CUB Litigation Director Julie Soderna…...
Why Northern Illinois should care about the rate hikes in Central and Southern Illinois
Lately we’ve been discussing an Illinois electricity auction that sparked a 12-35% price spike for many Central and Southern Illinois customers. The spike was due to an increase in capacity prices—what consumers pay to ensure power plants can deliver electricity on the highest-demand days of the year. Every spring, MISO (the…...
New power prices in Illinois
Summer is around the corner, bringing with it warm days, sunshine, flowers, and…new electric rates. ComEd customers can breathe a little easier starting June 1, as the utility’s price to compare will drop to 7.04¢/kWh through Sept. 30. That’s a decrease of about 7 percent from the current rate (7.572¢/kWh). Ameren…...
Editorial roundup: the battle to protect electric customers in Springfield
Springfield is abuzz with two very different pieces of energy legislation, one that could help electric customers and another that could hurt them. One is the Illinois Clean Jobs bill (House Bill 2607/Senate Bill 1485), which would increase energy efficiency and renewable energy standards in Illinois. A CUB analysis found that the…...
