The following is a statement from the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) on Peoples Gas filing for a $202 million rate hike. (Read a pdf version of the statement.)
At a time when Peoples Gas has been reaping massive profits as its customers pay soaring heating costs, the Chicago utility’s bid for yet another rate hike is unconscionable. Peoples Gas just received the biggest gas hike in Illinois history in 2023, and it’s all the more outrageous that this new cash-grab comes as Chicago descends into one of the coldest months of the year and far too many families can’t afford to pay Peoples Gas bills amid rising costs for other necessities like prescriptions and groceries.
Even worse, Peoples has padded its profits with what it rakes in from families struggling to keep the heat on. In November the company reported that more than 20 percent of its customers owed late fees. Also, as of Nov. 30, 146,899 Peoples customers were more than 30 days behind on their bills with a collective debt of $65.2 million.
CUB will do everything in its power to stop Peoples’ profit-mongering and urge state regulators to reject every penny of this rate hike the utility can’t justify.
(Sign CUB’s petition against the Peoples Gas rate hike.)
Background:
- On Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, Peoples Gas filed for a rate hike—reportedly a $202 million hike that will increase bills by an average of $10-$11 per month for the typical Chicago gas customer. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) will rule on the request after an 11-month rate case.
- Peoples Gas has raised rates by $499 million, or 98 percent, since 2011–including a state-record $306 million rate hike in 2023. The utility set earnings records for six straight years, from 2017 through 2022, and recorded record earnings again in 2024. The parent company of Peoples Gas, WEC Energy Group, made $1.2 billion in profits over the first 9 months of 2025.
- People’s proposed increase impacts delivery rates, which take up about two-thirds of gas bills. It’s what Peoples charge customers to cover the costs of delivering gas to homes—plus a profit. The delivery rate-hike request comes at a time when customers are already paying elevated prices on another part of the bill: supply. Peoples Gas this month is charging a supply price that is about 25 percent higher than it was last January. (Unlike delivery rate hikes, Peoples Gas does not profit off supply price increases. It simply passes the cost of the actual gas onto customers with no markup.)
- Customers having trouble paying their bills should contact their utility to find out about assistance available and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), 1-877-411-9276.
- Warning: Even customers who pay an alternative gas supplier still pay Peoples’ delivery charges. So customers should beware of any sales representative who says they can avoid the rate hike by going with an unregulated supplier. All customers would pay these higher rates.
- Peoples Gas is the gas utility for Chicago residents, delivering the heating fuel to more than 892,000 customers.
