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Electric

CUB helps granddaughter secure $1,286 refund for grandmother

By Samantha Vercellino Ever since her grandmother fell ill, Cheryl  took over the responsibility of paying her utility bills. Handling her affairs never troubled Cheryl until the 97-year old racked up $1,200 in electric and gas charges with the alternative supplier Spark Energy. Concerned her grandmother signed up with Spark…...

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June 1: The day a 30% increase in power prices took hold in Central, Southern IL

The fight against a 30 percent increase in power prices is heating up, just as the hike takes hold in Central and Southern Illinois. Here are the latest developments: The new prices took effect on June 1: 5.974 cents per kWh (zone 1) 5.911 cents per kWh (zone 2) 5.966…...

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Consumer collects $598.13 electric refund with CUB’s help

By Samantha Vercellino Doreen, of Country Club Hills, couldn’t figure out why her power bills were becoming unusually expensive. Not wanting to be left in the dark, she headed to a CUB speaking engagement in Richton Park for answers. At the event, she sat down with Community Service Liaison Aimee…...

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Congrats to CUB’s Love to Save Winner!

By Samantha Vercellino Congratulations, Pedro of Mount Prospect who beat out 274 consumers to win $100 off his utility bill AND a $50 Amazon gift card for practicing energy efficiency. Last week, Pedro and other consumers entered our energy efficiency contest. To qualify for the drawing, they had to join…...

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Energy saving tips to eat up this Thanksgiving

By Samantha Vercellino Thanksgiving is fast approaching and many Americans are gearing up to cook a traditional holiday feast that will leave family and friends in a food coma. But gathering around the table can be a pricey affair, especially when total U.S. spending on Thanksgiving dinner is $2.4 billion. So, before heading…...

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How low is too low?

By Samantha Vercellino It’s the perfect time to throw on your comfiest sweater, take some simple steps to weatherize your home and turn down your home’s heat. The lower the temperature, the more you save. But, before you crank down your thermostat, here’s what you need to know. With each…...

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New meters = new opportunities to save

CUB has been highlighting some of the worst electric deals this week with our report on the state of the Illinois electric market. But it’s not all bad news! In fact, the gradual introduction of digital electric meters has opened the door to all kinds of unique pricing plans that could…...

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Illinois’ most hated bill: Cable gets the nod!

The results are in from our survey on Illinois’ most hated bill. It’s cable, but judging by the survey results there’s plenty of bill-hate to go around. 1) Cable: 627 votes, 35.8 percent 2) Natural Gas: 461 votes, 26.4 percent 3) Electric: 296 votes, 16.9 percent 4) Phone: 240 votes,…...

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Take CUB’s Survey: Have you received a utility energy report?

Imagine this: You get a letter from your electric or gas utility that has colorful bar graphs and says something like this, “You used 21% more natural gas than your neighbors. That cost you about $102 extra.” Or maybe, your electricity/gas usage compares favorably to your neighbors and your  energy…...

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Tell the ICC: Protect the Ameren rate cut!

It’s not often you get good news about your electric bill, but Ameren customers were happy to hear that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) ordered a $45 million electric rate cut, which went into effect on Jan. 1. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Ameren to file a “petition for…...

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