The following is a statement from Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz reacting to a motion filed by Peoples Gas today seeking to get permission from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to claw back $134 million of disallowed funding for its pipeline-replacement program in 2024. If approved, this would add about $8 million to the Peoples Gas rate hike, which the company received on Nov. 16 and goes into effect today.
It is outrageous for Peoples Gas, which has been rolling in six straight years of record profits and just received a record rate hike, to claim that it suddenly doesn’t have the resources to conduct repairs to its system and pay its workers. This is further proof that the ICC did the right thing when it issued a long-overdue order that the utility pause this needlessly expensive pipe-replacement program—pending an ICC investigation—that after 10 years had not yielded any significant safety improvements but has caused a dire affordability crisis for customers who have seen their bills skyrocket. The ICC should reject this irresponsible motion. –CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz.
