(800) 669-5556

Consumer Advocacy

CUB’s online service captures “remarkable savings” for CUB member

CUB staffers have been working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped our outreach team from connecting with consumers and helping them save money on their bills. CUB member Don will save about $50 a month after his gas and electric bills were analyzed by CUB’s…...

Read more

Breaking: Major utilities extend moratorium on shut-offs

Major Illinois utilities have extended the moratorium on shut-offs for another month, until around September, according to a statement from state regulators. Ameren Illinois, Aqua Illinois, Consumer Gas, ComEd, Illinois American Water, Liberty, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas and Utility Services of Illinois are among the utilities with extended moratoriums…...

Read more

Energy rip-offs have hit low-income communities hard, but here’s another reason the HEAT Act gives us hope

At CUB, we get reports that customers enrolled with alternative suppliers have been charged double or triple (or worse) for their electricity—and marketers have long preyed on the neighborhoods that can least afford to pay high power bills.   That’s yet another reason we’re dedicated to making sure a new reform…...

Read more

Historic consumer protections: Urge the ICC to approve this COVID-19 relief plan

Illinois regulators this week will consider some of the strongest COVID-19 utility consumer protections in the country. Developed through weeks of discussion among consumer advocates and major utilities, this plan could serve as a national model to help utility customers struggling to pay their bills during the economic crisis. But…...

Read more

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…...

Read more

4 Coronavirus headlines you might have missed: Shut-offs, Wi-Fi, scams, dirty cellphones

As Coronavirus continues to spread, headlines have been saturated with news about the disease, also known as COVID-19. CUB picked a few news stories from the bunch that are helpful for consumers’ pocketbooks and health. Leaders call on utilities to half shut-offs during public health crisis. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and…...

Read more

A message from CUB’s Executive Director: Responding to COVID-19

Dear Illinois consumers: Now that the World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 (also known as Coronavirus) a global pandemic, I want to let you know that the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) will continue to serve you through this public health crisis, while doing our part to limit this hazard from…...

Read more

CUB “helped save my company from bankruptcy”

Kudos to Annie, CUB’s Bilingual Consumer Rights Specialist! She helped Devin correct an $82,000 mistake by ComEd that threatened to shut down his small business. “CUB is a vital resource. You guys helped save my company from bankruptcy,” Devin said. And kudos to you too! The support of Illinois consumers…...

Read more

CUB “helped save my company from bankruptcy” with $82,000 credit

Devin B. won’t ever forget the monster ComEd bills he feared would bankrupt his small business before it even started. In March, ComEd told him he had used 293,106 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. That’s about 2,400 times his typical usage. His bill, which usually hovered around $100, ballooned to $44,226.…...

Read more

More than 100 million consumers hit by Capital One hack

Yet another data breach has exposed the private data of more than one hundred million people, leaving them vulnerable to fraud. Credit card company Capital One went public on Monday with news that 106 million individuals had their data compromised, mostly from credit card applications between 2005 and early 2019.…...

Read more