(800) 669-5556

Smart Grid

CUB honored with consumer education award

The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative announced Monday that the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is a recipient of the group’s CLEAR Consumer Education Award for 2017. The annual CLEAR Awards, now in its fifth year, recognizes a utility, technology provider and nonprofit that serve as role models for smart grid consumer education…...

Read more

What’s happening to your Ameren power bills?

Read this Q&A about your Ameren power bills and take our quick poll. So what’s happening to my Ameren electric bill? Two developments in April could impact your Ameren power bill. First, Ameren announced that it has asked the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) for a rate cut of about $14…...

Read more

Live in Illinois? Your Energy Data May be Easier for You to Access than Ever Before

By: David Kolata and Andrew Barbeau Knowledge is power – especially when it comes to electricity. And as Illinois’ biggest electric utility installs 4 million new digital, advanced meters across the state, people are on the brink of obtaining the intelligence they need to maximize the benefits of this smart…...

Read more

For a cheaper, cleaner power grid: CUB, EDF greenhouse gas metric to measure smart grid benefits

A first-of-its-kind metric proposed by CUB and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) will measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions due to groundbreaking smart grid improvements. The metric was developed in concert with ComEd, which became the first utility in the country to adopt this greenhouse gas measurement tool. Calculating the environmental benefits of clean…...

Read more

Control your data = see savings!

As smart meters roll out across the country, we stand on the horizon of a bright and innovative energy future.  Part of the smart grid’s benefits are systemic: stronger grid resiliency, increased reliability, fewer outages, decreased peak energy load, and lower utility operating costs. But benefits also accrue to the individual customer—and that…...

Read more

Bright future: Good news from the Illinois Commerce Commission

The future for solar looks a little brighter in Illinois after two recent Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) rulings. The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) applauded the decisions after months of work in favor of the reforms.  “If Illinois wants to have a cheaper, cleaner and more stable…...

Read more

Utilities stand in the way of money-saving pricing plans

If there was a program that could reduce demand on the power grid AND lower your electric bills AND cut harmful pollution, you would think that was a pretty good plan, right? The big electric companies disagree. CUB recently asked state regulators to explore the idea of ComEd and Ameren offering an optional…...

Read more

Auto rate hikes bill passes, but here’s why it might still die

It’s never good news to report that an automatic rate hikes bill has passed the General Assembly, but it turns out the measure might already be on life support. Today, the Senate easily passed a bill to extend by two years, annual automatic rate hikes for ComEd and Ameren. That…...

Read more

Land of Lincoln leading the nation: An information bill of rights for smart meter customers

Illinois could become the first state to require electric utilities to give customers quick and easy access to their own energy-usage data, under a proposal filed with state regulators by the Environmental Defense Fund and CUB. The is a key time for Illinois electric customers, as ComEd and Ameren launch…...

Read more

The 5 most annoying things about Illinois’ power grid (and what a smarter grid could do about it)

Illinois’ power grid—the aging lines and equipment that deliver electricity to our doorstep—has become a costly headache for electric customers.  The “smart grid,” which is an umbrella term for grid upgrades, could help change that. CUB has compiled a list of the most annoying consumer headaches that ComEd and Ameren…...

Read more