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…...
ComEd customers get $38 million refund this month–not enough
This month, ComEd customers are getting their small share of a $38 million refund tied to the utility’s corruption scandal. March/April ComEd bills should have the following message in the “UPDATES” section: This month’s bill includes a one-time credit designated as “Deferred Prosecution Agreement” in accordance with the Illinois Commerce Commission’s…...
CUB partners with GAOI, MREA to launch its first-ever geothermal group-buy program
For the first time in its history, a top Illinois consumer watchdog is helping to launch an innovative program to help Chicago-area consumers install a geothermal heat pump system at a discount and cut their utility bills. The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is partnering with the Geothermal Alliance of Illinois…...
‘I am not the gas utility’s ATM!’ CUB, consumer advocates rally outside Peoples Gas HQ to protest record rate hike
As Chicago struggles with a heating-affordability crisis and Peoples Gas rakes in five years of record profits, residents rallied outside the utility’s headquarters to slam the company’s record $402 million rate hike and urge state regulators and policymakers to hold the utility accountable. Waving signs like “I am not the…...
