We’ve sent out an action alert to Ameren Illinois customers, warning them about the company’s proposal to raise their electric customer charge by about 9 percent. This is a change in rate design, NOT a rate hike. That means the company isn’t going to make more money—it just wants to…...
Sign CUB petition about AT&T-Time Warner merger
This week, CUB is asking Illinois consumers to sign our petition expressing concerns about AT&T’s push to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion. The blockbuster deal, which will be subject to a Justice Department review, joins media giant Time Warner (owner of HBO, CNN and Warner Bros. Studio) with AT&T, the…...
Breaking: FCC passes unprecedented Internet privacy rules
Big news! The Washington Post reports: “Federal regulators have approved unprecedented new rules to ensure broadband providers do not abuse their customers’ app usage and browsing history, mobile location data and other sensitive personal information generated while using the Internet.” Read the full article here. Thank you to more than 4,500 CUB Action Network members who…...
CUB pushes cutting-edge “methane mapping” to identify gas leaks
State regulators should require Peoples Gas to use a cutting-edge technology called “methane mapping” to locate Chicago’s leakiest gas pipes, according to expert testimony filed by CUB. CUB is urging Chicagoans to send a message to state regulators in favor of methane mapping as a way to improve the utility’s pipeline replacement…...
CUB Power Calculator update with new power prices
CUB’s Power Calculator, a free tool to help you judge alternative electricity supplier offers in Illinois, has been updated with new winter power prices. Here’s how you use it: Go to www.CUBPowerCalcuator.com Just plug in the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of an alternative electricity supplier’s offer. (Make sure to ask…...
Consumer Alert: PIPP is back! (but funds are going fast)
A program that helps low-income seniors and families stay current with their utility bills was reinstated after budget disputes in Springfield suspended it for a year. However, due to the program’s popularity the funding has run out in Cook County and is going fast in other counties. The Percentage of Income…...
Breaking: ComEd and Ameren have new power prices
As of Oct. 1, ComEd and Ameren Illinois are charging new electricity prices. ComEd: 6.388¢/kilowatt-hour (kWh) Ameren: 6.514¢/kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the first 800 kWh used; 4.776¢/kWh for usage over 800 kWh Why is it important to know this? Because the prices above are what you compare to any alternative supplier offer that is…...
Cable box proposal: FCC delays vote, get ready for round 2!
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has delayed a vote on a plan that would have allowed a lot of consumers to avoid paying set-top box rental fees to pay-TV companies. In the last few weeks, more than 4,000 CUB Action Network members signed our petition in favor of the plan. But we knew…...
Big vote today: Will the FCC free you from cable-box rental fees?
Update: The Washington Post reports that the FCC was unable to come to an agreement regarding new rules that would free consumers from expensive cable box rental fees. There’s no word when the vote will be rescheduled. ++++++++++++ Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is set to vote on a…...
