Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the watchdog Citizens Utility Board (CUB) praised Illinois regulators for two major rulings this fall that launch innovative dynamic-pricing pilot projects for customers of the state’s biggest electric utility. The projects place Illinois among the leading states for developing clean energy tools that empower customers…...
We like headlines like this: “Regulators order Peoples Gas to repay $7.2 million to customers”
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has announced that Peoples Gas has agreed to give about $7.2 million back to its customers in connection with a review of the 2015 costs of the utility’s troubled pipeline-replacement program. This is the result of a settlement involving the utility and the staff of…...
Citizens Utility Board’s Mid-Year Report
By Executive Director David Kolata In 2019, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) celebrates 35 years of fighting for Illinois consumers. We were a long shot when a handful of people led by pioneering Executive Director Sue Stewart began working for consumers in May of 1984. “Those who expect the citizens’…...
The HEAT Act: One of the nation’s toughest consumer protection laws against gas and electric rip-offs
In a victory for consumers, the Illinois General Assembly has unanimously passed and the governor has signed one of the nation’s toughest consumer-protection laws to fight rip-offs peddled by alternative electric and gas suppliers. At the end of May, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously passed the Home Energy Affordability and…...
Good news on a Friday night: General Assembly passes historic consumer protections
Just wanted to share this statement from CUB Executive Director David Kolata on a major victory for consumers at the General Assembly tonight: STATEMENT FROM CUB EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DAVID KOLATA ON PASSAGE OF HEAT ACT The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) thanks the General Assembly for passing the HEAT Act, historic…...
At the Supreme Court: A victory for clean energy
This month, Illinois consumers got good news: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request to review appellate court decisions that upheld the right for states to advance clean energy goals through “zero-emission credit” (ZEC) programs in Illinois and New York. On Twitter, CUB called it an “important victory for cost-effective…...
Fake news? Not to customers paying high Peoples Gas bills
In a recent earnings call, Gale Klappa, the CEO of WEC Energy Group (the parent of Peoples Gas), tried to dodge ongoing reports by Crain’s Chicago Business that the utility’s pipeline-replacement program is mismanaged, over-budget and on the verge of sparking a heating-affordability crisis in Chicago. “I hate to use…...
CUB honored by generous donation in memory of Chris Conrad
Illinois man remembered as kind-hearted seeker of knowledge As the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) celebrates its 35th anniversary, we are honored to receive a generous memorial gift from the family of an Illinois man, Chris Conrad, who had a lifelong passion for shining a light on inequity and injustice. The…...