This week our legal team received some good news: An Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) judge has recommended that the full ICC reject Ameren Illinois’ proposal to increase its customer charge by 9 percent. (Read CUB’s statement on the development.) Last August, the company had made the proposal, but CUB, Environmental…...
Stop: The “Raise Our Utility Bills Act”
New legislation was introduced in Washington this month that would kill efficiency standards and potentially hit Americans with billions of dollars in higher utility costs. H.R. 117 is called the “Energy Efficiency Free Market Act of 2017,” but a better name would be the “Raise Our Utility Bills Act.” The…...
General Assembly passes historic energy efficiency standards
On the last day of the General Assembly’s veto session, legislators passed Senate Bill 2814, a measure that will spark lower utility bills by establishing historic energy efficiency standards for Illinois’ biggest electric utilities. On Thursday evening, the Illinois House passed the measure, also called the “Future Energy Jobs Bill,” 63-38,…...
Statement by CUB Executive Director David Kolata on passage of SB 2814
The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is pleased that the Illinois General Assembly has passed Senate Bill 2814, the Future Energy Jobs Bill, and that Gov. Bruce Rauner has now signed the legislation. This is a good day for Illinois electric customers because with this legislation the state’s biggest energy companies…...
Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition Announces Support of Amended Future Energy Jobs Bill
Environmental and consumer advocates, energy efficiency experts, faith leaders and clean energy businesses call for passage of amended energy bill, an important step forward to build jobs across Illinois, save customers money and act on climate. For Immediate Release, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016 Representatives of Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC), a…...
Take action to fight for energy efficiency
CUB’s working overtime in November, because we owe it to you to try to make history in Springfield. Here’s an update: This week, the General Assembly could vote on major energy legislation in the Veto Session. The legislation has historic energy efficiency standards to reduce electricity waste by more than 20% and spark at least…...
Tell legislators: Strong energy efficiency standards
Any day now, the Illinois General Assembly could be voting on major energy legislation. In Illinois we have a historic opportunity through this legislation to require utilities to dramatically expand their investments in energy efficiency, lowering our utility bills by at least $4 billion and helping to create tens of…...
How low should you set your thermostat?
If you live in a household with multiple people, a couple degrees on the thermostat could spark the biggest arguments. So, let’s settle it once and for all: Where should you set your home’s temperature? The Department of Energy says setting your thermostat back 7-10 degrees from its normal setting for eight hours…...
