During the summer months when electricity bills are on the rise, many consumers wonder if they should switch to an alternative supplier to cut down on their bills. But beware, these enticing offers are usually not as good as they seem. Illinois electric customers have lost more than $1 billion…...
The time is now for electric cooperatives to empower rural Illinois communities
Co-Authors: Amanda Pankau, Prairie Rivers Network, Christine Nannicelli, Sierra Club Illinois, and Scott Allen, Citizens Utility Board The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has dramatically transformed the energy landscape for publicly owned electric cooperatives and municipal utilities across the country, offering game-changing access to clean energy tax credits…...
Regulators say NO to Peoples, Nicor Gas
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has ordered a $15.4 million refund for Peoples Gas customers and most recently a refund of more than $31 million for Nicor Gas customers, two votes that may signal a tougher stance towards utilities whose rampant spending has helped spark a heating-affordability crisis in Illinois.…...
Making A Difference: She said “no one at the utility company was listening”— but CUB did
CUB has helped save Illinois consumers more than $20 billion over the last four decades, but sometimes the most important consumer victory is just listening. Take Eleanor’s case. For two years, her October and November bills were around $285 and Nicor kept saying that’s what the meter read. They even…...
CUB Q&A: Peoria’s Power Deal
Ameren Illinois is the electric utility that serves Central and Southern Illinois. But while Ameren will always deliver the power to your home over its wires, under state law you can choose an alternative company to supply you with electricity. (That means a company other than Ameren will purchase electricity…...
Electrifying news: Utilities offer home rebates, discounts for moving from gas to electricity
By: Kate Shonk CUB Sustainable Communities Liason At almost every outreach event, CUB staff fields questions on electrification. Now more than ever, it’s clear consumers are curious about alternatives to gas, and now more than ever there are financial incentives to help them make that switch. Because electric supply can…...
CUB’s guy in Springfield thanks consumers for their involvement
By: Bryan McDaniel CUB Director of Governmental Affairs Given all the action on energy legislation in the General Assembly over the last few years, 2023 proved a little quieter, until the end of session when Ameren muscled through a proposal to give themselves a monopoly over transmission lines in their…...
Legal update: CUB testimony on record rate hikes urges $1.6 billion in reductions
By: Eric DeBellis General Counsel CUB’s legal team has been working nonstop the past month, filing expert testimony with state regulators to oppose a record six utility rate hikes, exposing the proposed increases as unjust and unreasonable and urging state regulators to cut them by a combined total of at…...