If your electric or natural gas bill skyrockets unexpectedly, you may have inadvertently signed up with an alternative supplier. You should know where to look on your bill to determine if you’re with an alternative supplier. For more information, get CUB’s “Guide to Avoiding Electric Rip-offs” and “Guide to Avoiding…...
Some good news for ComEd customers this October
In October, ComEd customers will receive a one-time refund totaling about $80 million. Here’s what you should know: The per-kilowatt-hour credit, labeled the “energy efficiency credit,” works out to nearly $14 for the average ComEd residential customer. The credit is the result of a refund requested by ComEd…...
What companies have the highest power prices in Illinois?
Ivonne Ortiz, CUB’s Environmental Outreach Coordinator, researches the prices offered by Illinois’ alternative electricity suppliers each week, and she has some significant updates for you: Supplier sued. State Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against Sperian Energy, seeking to bar the supplier from the Illinois market. The attorney general’s lawsuit…...
Urge Congress: Don’t kill net neutrality!
As the fight to protect your Internet rights rages before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee is preparing to hold a hearing on “ground rules for the Internet,” which could lead to anti-net neutrality laws backed by big Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like…...
Is home phone service really getting better?
In its push to eventually end landlines in Illinois, AT&T has promised that home phone service isn’t going away, it’s getting better. There are plenty of Illinois consumers who, along with CUB, dispute that. CUB did an analysis of AT&T’s phone options: Landlines: Pros: Landlines are reliable and, at around $20 or…...
Protect solar power—Oppose a tariff
We want to alert you about an important issue that could have a devastating impact on our efforts to fight for a more reliable and affordable power grid. Here’s a quick summary: A case before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)—a federal agency that provides trade expertise to the White…...
Your donation is twice as powerful for a limited time!
Today is a great day to join the fight against $8 billion in higher bills. Today, your donation is twice as powerful, twice as helpful! A generous CUB donor—somebody who has been one of our biggest supporters over the last few years—has agreed to match donations. He wants to do this for you—because he doesn’t want…...
Why we care about energy efficiency
Our recently-finished quarterly newsletter, The CUB Voice, is our “green” issue, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Some of our leaders in Washington want to defund Energy Star, an efficiency program that has cut business and residential utility bills by $430 billion since its inception in 1992.…...