By: Kate Shonk CUB Sustainable Communities Liason At almost every outreach event, CUB staff fields questions on electrification. Now more than ever, it’s clear consumers are curious about alternatives to gas, and now more than ever there are financial incentives to help them make that switch. Because electric supply can…...
CUB’s guy in Springfield thanks consumers for their involvement
By: Bryan McDaniel CUB Director of Governmental Affairs Given all the action on energy legislation in the General Assembly over the last few years, 2023 proved a little quieter, until the end of session when Ameren muscled through a proposal to give themselves a monopoly over transmission lines in their…...
Legal update: CUB testimony on record rate hikes urges $1.6 billion in reductions
By: Eric DeBellis General Counsel CUB’s legal team has been working nonstop the past month, filing expert testimony with state regulators to oppose a record six utility rate hikes, exposing the proposed increases as unjust and unreasonable and urging state regulators to cut them by a combined total of at…...
CUB testimony recommends $914 million reduction in ComEd rate-hike request
Commonwealth Edison’s proposed four-year electric rate hike should be cut by at least $914.5 million, or more than 60 percent, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) said Tuesday, citing expert testimony it filed in the rate case. CUB Executive Director David Kolata said the watchdog expects to support additional reductions uncovered by the Illinois…...
Saving energy and money at home– the renter’s edition
By: Kate Shonk Sustainable Communities Liason The summer cooling season is upon us, and at CUB we’re here to help all Illinoisans save energy and money. For consumers who rent their homes, it can be hard to have control over their building’s efficiency measures–but you still have options. Even if…...
Disturbing new Peoples Gas filings shine light on mismanagement, stonewalling in troubled pipeline program
New filings with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) reveal a disturbing pattern of mismanagement of the troubled Peoples Gas pipeline-replacement program, with the company not answering basic questions about the program and admitting it hasn’t done an overall cost-analysis in nearly a decade. (Read the joint release from Illinois PIRG…...
CUB testimony recommends $492 million reduction in Ameren electric hike
Ameren Illinois’ proposed four-year electric rate hike should be slashed by at least $492 million, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) announced Monday, citing expert testimony it filed. “While a utility has to maintain its system, Ameren should not get a blank check,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. “Our expert…...
CUB Q&A: Winter storm exposes the myth of fossil fuel reliability
By Sarah Moskowitz, CUB Deputy Director This past Christmas Eve, as many of us were busy with last-minute holiday preparations, CUB rushed out an email to people in northern Illinois with this ominous subject line: ALERT: Power grid operator calls for energy conservation over the next 24 hours. We were…...
What’s the difference between ARES plans and Community Solar?
By Marina Minic, CUB Solar Programs Administrator As we hold hundreds of events across the state, consumers sometimes ask us: What’s the difference between an alternative supplier offer and a relatively new option called Community Solar? The offers can sound deceptively similar, but there are big differences–and you should know…...
