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CUB urges consumers to call utilities, access protections

CUB is urging Illinois consumers to contact their utility companies to take advantage of consumer protections available to them due to the pandemic. “If you are struggling to pay your bills, immediately contact your utility to find out what protections are available, and set up a plan to prevent disconnection,”…...

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Ameren gas rates go up, MidAmerican’s drop

Ameren Illinois’ natural gas rates went up more than 3.5 cents per therm from last month, while MidAmerican Energy customers saw their rates fall about 5 cents. Gas utilities Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas prices fell about a penny, and Nicor Gas increased by a penny. The price per…...

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Q&A on the ComEd and Ameren Formula Rates for 2021 

What happened?  On Wednesday, Dec. 9, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved delivery rate cuts for Ameren Illinois and ComEd customers. The ICC voted to give ComEd a delivery rate decrease of about $14 million.  The state regulatory body OK’d a decrease of about $48.7 million for Ameren. The lower…...

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Update: What’s Going On with Net Metering for Ameren Solar Customers?

UPDATE: The Illinois Commerce Commission sided with CUB and state solar advocates in a Dec. 2 ruling, asserting that Ameren’s calculations ended retail-rate net metering for solar customers too soon. Ameren will now return to retail-rate net metering and provide retroactive credits to any customers who might have been affected…...

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Join the Fight—Give to CUB for Giving Tuesday

We appreciate your activism this year for the cause of clean, affordable energy, consumer justice and lower utility bills. And today you have a great opportunity to increase your impact! It’s Giving Tuesday, the international day for supporting nonprofits, and it’s also the day you can join CUB for 2021!…...

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CUB’s Holiday Lighting Guide

The pandemic may hang over this holiday season, but there’s still plenty of reason to get in the spirit and decorate your home. Americans spend about $233 million on holiday lights each year, according to Wired magazine, so CUB has tips to help you cut down on your electricity costs. Switch to…...

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Deadline Monday, Nov. 23: Does Facebook owe you money?

We want to make sure you were aware of a major settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Facebook. It means that certain Illinois Facebook users could be in for a cash payout of several hundred dollars. BUT the deadline for filing a claim is this Monday, Nov. 23. Read our…...

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Federal stats: IL has lowest average electric bills in Midwest for 8th straight year

Recently released federal statistics show that for the eighth straight year Illinois has the lowest average residential electric bills in the Midwest. And in 2019, we had the fourth lowest bills in the nation. That’s encouraging, but there’s a lot of work left to do in order to secure clean,…...

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Why CUB continues the fight for landlines

Can you count on your cellphone carrier to save your life? When you dial 911 from a cellphone, most consumers may expect dispatchers to immediately know their location. However, current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules only require your carrier to provide location data that is accurate within 50-300 meters, according…...

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2020: CUB’s Year by the Numbers

2020 certainly wasn’t the year we were expecting: COVID-19 pandemic, racial and economic injustice and utility corruption. But CUB continued to work for Illinois consumers, despite some of the obstacles this year has thrown our way. We converted all of our in-person events to online programming, and invited people to email us their…...

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