As Illinois utility customers enter their twelfth straight month of high heating prices, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) issued a consumer alert to warn natural gas customers about pervasive myths that could ultimately hurt their bottom lines. (Watch CUB’s video on three actions you can take to fight high gas…...
CUB Report: Comprehensive State-By-State Rankings on Utility Performance Cast Doubt on Claims that Fossil Fuels Lower Power Bills
While officials in the fossil fuel industry have long insisted that investments in coal and natural gas are necessary to keep electricity bills low and the lights on, a consumer watchdog group says that its first-ever analysis of state-by-state energy data casts doubt on those claims. In fact, Electric Utility…...
Crain’s Chicago Business: City of Chicago, Illinois AG call for far higher ComEd bribery rebate
The Illinois attorney general’s office and the city of Chicago yesterday urged the Illinois Commerce Commission to more than double the refund Commonwealth Edison should make to ratepayers over its admitted bribery scheme. In testimony filed with the ICC, the state’s chief consumer advocate, the city and the Citizens Utility…...
The worst utility bill of 2021? No surprise here: Natural gas!
Congratulations to Candice of Lake Zurich on winning CUB’s $100 prize for participating in our “Most Expensive Utility Bill of 2021” poll. Candice’s submission was randomly selected from over 300 participants. Like most other respondents, Candice said their natural gas bill was the worst: “My gas bill in December 2020…...
February’s natural gas prices: How much will you pay to heat your home?
A year after a deep freeze across the Southern United States sparked problems in the natural gas distribution system, Illinois consumers are still suffering under skyrocketing heating bills because of that extreme weather and other market problems. The prices for major natural gas utilities in Illinois are as follows: Ameren…...
As Illinois consumers suffer through a cold, expensive winter, coalition urges Springfield to end abusive surcharge on heating bills
With heating bills skyrocketing across Illinois, a coalition of consumer advocates joined with key legislators on Monday to urge the Illinois General Assembly to eliminate a natural gas surcharge that has helped major utilities rapidly increase bills, plunging many families into crisis this winter. At a news conference, AARP Illinois,…...
Q&A: What is the QIP surcharge on my gas bill?
What is the QIP surcharge? The Qualified Infrastructure Plant, or QIP, fee is charged by Ameren Illinois, Nicor Gas and Peoples Gas, the three biggest gas utilities in Illinois. It covers certain costs associated with replacing natural gas pipes and other work on the utilities’ gas delivery system. You may…...
