The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently named Illinois the top state for LEED certification—the most widely recognized green building rating system—in 2013! The USGBC ranks states based on LEED-certified buildings per capita. With 171 green building projects certified in 2013 and 29,415,284 square feet of energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly space, Illinois…...
Ask FERC to investigate winter energy prices
What’s going on with energy prices this winter? That’s a question CUB wants answered, and we’re asking for your help. Send a message to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to investigate the root causes behind this winter’s electric and natural gas price spikes. Power and gas prices skyrocketed in…...
State of high-speed Internet in the U.S.: Maddening, isn’t it?
This chart, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), makes painfully clear what we’ve been hearing for so long: Consumers in the United States pay more for slower broadband. It sparked some strong opinions on CUB’s Facebook page. “Wow, that makes me sick,” said one CUB fan. So…...
Gas Rates Skyrocket
The idea behind “Choices for You”—the program allowing Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas customers to choose an alternative company to supply their natural gas–is that you can shop around for the best gas price. But the history of gas choice in northern Illinois has been riddled with bad deals and…...
Energy Reports: Helpful or Headache?
Not too long ago, CUB began noticing an uptick in complaints about periodic “energy reports” being sent to consumers from the utility companies. The reports give consumers information about their home’s natural gas and electricity usage, include tips on making homes energy efficient, and compare energy usage to neighbors. While the…...
CUB to FERC: What’s behind the January energy price spike?
Energy prices skyrocketed in January, and CUB suspects the reason might be more than just the record-breaking cold. Recently, we joined with consumer advocates from 10 other states in a letter urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to examine the root causes behind the price spike. “No doubt, January’s ‘polar…...
The $42.5 billion Time Warner deal: Can Comcast pass the FCC test?
As Comcast today announced plans to gobble up Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion, one of its favorite talking points was that the deal won’t hurt competition because the companies’ geographic markets don’t overlap. OK, but that’s indicative of the big problem. The cable/Internet market already is plagued by consolidation…...
