Bryan McDaniel, CUB’s director of governmental affairs, gave this report after a recent utility bill clinic in Elgin: Last night I sat down with a nice woman by the name of “Paige.” Paige does not have her own car and someone gave her a ride to the event. She had…...
Repeal of Clean Power Plan a blow to energy efficiency
When Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), began the process of repealing the Clean Power Plan, environmentalists from across the country decried the move. But there’s another reason to oppose the administration’s short-sighted actions to kill the plan: It offered the best opportunity to maximize investment…...
CUB on repeal of Clean Power Plan: Bad news for consumers
As expected, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency today issued a proposed rule to repeal the Clean Power plan. Read the statement by CUB Executive Director David Kolata: “Any attempt by the Administration to weaken or repeal the Clean Power Plan is bad news for consumers. The Clean Power…...
Equifax data breach: What you need to know
What happened? On Sept. 7, the credit reporting agency Equifax announced that hackers had broken into its computer network, exposing the personal information of up to 143 million U.S. consumers — nearly half the country. At first Equifax reported that the hack happened between May 13 and July 29. But…...
“Peaking” your interest? Consumers question why they haven’t received peak-time alerts this summer
Here’s the text that CUB General Counsel Julie Soderna received the day after she earned $7.50 in bill credits for participating in the Peak Time Savings program. (Good job, Julie!) Peak Time Savings (ComEd) and Peak Time Rewards (Ameren Illinois) are two no-cost, money-saving programs that CUB has encouraged people,…...
CUB statement on new consumer protections for IL electric customers
Statement: Although we disagree with efforts by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to weaken certain consumer protections, the new rules are a step in the right direction to protect Illinois consumers from misleading marketing by alternative power suppliers. You can’t have a healthy electricity market without strong consumer…...
Central, Southern IL customers to ICC: Don’t let Ameren cut back on efficiency goals
People from Central and Southern Illinois today urged the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to deny Ameren’s attempt to dodge efficiency goals required in the Future Energy Jobs Act, historic legislation that passed the General Assembly last year. “We need the local jobs, local savings on energy bills and health benefits…...
Speak up: Fight Ameren’s attack on energy efficiency
This week, CUB sent out a special e-newsletter to alert you to a new threat to energy efficiency that has the potential to raise Illinois power bills. What happened? Just months ago Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Act that requires the state’s biggest utilities to reduce electricity waste more…...