CUB’s Consumer Advocacy team spends most of their days answering people’s calls and emails about utility bills and service. In 2024, this team (Annie, Danielle, Sandra) handled more than 1,600 consumer inquiries, saving individual utility customers a total of $48,054. Below are examples of people whom we’ve advocated for in…...
CUB to utility exec: Stop downplaying rate hike!
Addressing a packed public forum about a proposed rate hike that could average up to $27-$29 per month, a utility executive downplayed the increase by saying it “will be less than a dollar-a-day….” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz sparked applause at the forum when she said: “A ‘dollar a day’…...
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 Alert: Apply Now for LIHEAP Utility Bill Assistance Before May 31 Deadline
With an expensive summer ahead, we urge consumers to apply now for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding before the May 31 deadline. Households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level are eligible for LIHEAP funding. To help consumers prepare to apply, we are holding two…...
Consumer victory: Advocates praise passage of HB 4281 in Illinois
The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is joining with Illinois officials in praising the state General Assembly for unanimously passing legislation that prevents a misleading marketing tactic that has tricked consumers for years and in some cases caused them to pay hundreds of dollars in extra costs. Last week, the Illinois…...
Consumer advocates secure utility protections after hard winter
Throughout the pandemic, consumer advocates, state regulators and utilities have negotiated consumer protections to try to keep people connected to service. The following is a summary of the latest protections, broken down by the major utilities in the state, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). After reading this, CUB…...
