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Ameren

October gas prices up from last month, down from 2019

The winter heating season is upon us, but while natural gas prices are up from last month, many utilities are charging less than they did last October.  Still, there’s bad news from one of the state’s biggest utilities: Crain’s Chicago Business reports that winter bills for Peoples Gas, which serves…...

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Most reliable way to save money on your bills? Energy efficiency

This Wednesday is Energy Efficiency Day, and as you probably know, CUB is a big believer in efficiency.  Energy efficiency isn’t about sacrifice or a drop in productivity. It’s the practice of using less energy to perform the same tasks you normally do, such as doing the laundry or charging…...

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New Power Prices for Ameren, ComEd Customers

As of October 1, ComEd and Ameren are updating their electricity supply prices to reflect non-summer pricing. According to the companies, these are the new Ameren and ComEd prices through May 2021: Ameren (for people living in Ameren’s geographic service territory) Usage of 0 to 800 kilowatt-hours (kWh): 4.542 cents per kWh*…...

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CUB review: Many community power deals no longer money savers

There was a time when municipal aggregation–electricity deals that local leaders negotiate for residents of a community–secured savings for consumers, but a new CUB review has found that most deals are no longer beating the utility rate. As of July 31, just 78 of the 555 total active municipal aggregation deals in…...

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Consumer losses from alternative electric suppliers exceed $1 billion

Illinois has reached a grim milestone in the history of electric competition in the state: Residential consumers have now lost more than $1 billion to alternative electric suppliers since 2015, according to a new report from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).  More than 1.67 million ratepayers are signed up with…...

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Real-Time Pricing: Another way to save–just ask CUB staffers

Most people pay an electricity rate that only changes a few times a year, but real-time pricing offers a different way to pay for electricity. Instead of charging a standard price per kilowatt-hour, the utility charges program participants a supply rate that changes each hour.  ComEd offers real-time pricing through…...

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Consumer advocates fight for extended COVID-19 protections for utility customers

After a historic agreement between consumer advocates and Illinois’ major utilities, state regulators are now considering the most comprehensive COVID-19 utility relief measures in the country. This plan could serve as a national model for helping utility customers struggling to pay their bills during the worst economic crisis since the…...

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Natural gas rates go up as the economy plummets, unemployment skyrockets

Most natural gas utilities have increased their prices for June, just as we face an economic crisis. These rising prices are a change in the downward trend CUB had observed in gas prices over the last several months. Thankfully, rates are still relatively low and usage tends to be lower in…...

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Alert: Electricity prices change for Ameren, ComEd customers

The Citizens Utility Board on Monday alerted Illinois consumers to a change in electricity prices for the state’s two largest utilities: Ameren Illinois and Commonwealth Edison. As of June 1, both utilities switched to their summer “price to compare”—the rate customers should compare to alternative supplier offers. According to the…...

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ComEd, Ameren file for electric rate decreases (yes, you read that right!)

Electric utilities ComEd and Ameren Illinois have both filed for rate decreases before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC)—$11.5 million and $45.3 million, respectively. Both requests will be reviewed by the Commission and decided on in December. ComEd’s cut, its third rate decrease in a row and fifth in 10 years,…...

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