Amid the hottest month of the year, consumer advocates joined with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to make Chicago-area consumers aware that cooling an empty home while they are away at work or on vacation can cause summer energy bills to soar at a news conference…...
CUB Executive Director’s mid-year report
CUB’s legal team gets the headlines with the big victories, but our consumer advocacy and outreach teams offer vital help to individual consumers on a daily basis. The Chicago Tribune’s Help Squad profiled a recent CUB utility-bill clinic. We hold hundreds of events like this each year! Here’s what you and CUB…...
Join CUB’s Community Action Campaign
This June we’re challenging EVERYONE in Chicago to join CUB’s Community Action Campaign. In the battles below, Julie, CUB’s general counsel, is up against the best lawyers the utilities can buy. She can’t beat them alone, which is why you and your neighbors must join the fight. Remember they only win when…...
Money-saving programs worth bragging about
Thanks to efficiency programs offered by Illinois’ major utilities, saving energy—and money— is easier than ever before. CUB chose seven of its favorite energy efficiency programs from across Illinois. (See them below in no particular order.) Lighting Discounts Under ComEd’s Energy Efficiency program, you can receive instant in-store discounts on select ENERGY STAR…...
Is this electric pitch legit? CUB breaks it down
Members of CUB’s consumer advocacy department (CAD) take thousands of inquiries each year, so they’ve heard all about the crazy pitches consumers receive from alternative electric suppliers. Last week, Sandra Marcelin-Reme—a veteran of the department—shared one consumer complaint that shows the type of trickery consumers are up against. Take a look at the…...
Reminder: The sign-up deadline for Ameren’s Peak Time Rewards is March 1!
It’s the last day for Ameren Illinois customers with new advanced electric meters to sign up for a no-cost program that rewards them with bill credits for delaying heavy power usage on certain days. To sign up for Ameren’s Peak Time Rewards program, visit PeakTimeRewards.com or call 1-844-787-7874. Qualifying customers who…...
Fight electric price-gouging: Support HB 3038
The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) needs your help urging state legislators to pass a bill that shady electric suppliers don’t want. This bill combats a major problem in Illinois: electricity suppliers that price-gouge customers with bad deals. (We’ve seen customers paying up to five times the utility rate—sad.) The bill,…...
CUB featured on CBS 2
CUB was featured on Chicago’s CBS 2 last night warning consumers in ComEd territory that they could see a marketing barrage from alternative electricity suppliers over the next year. The consumer watchdog told reporter Dorothy Tucker that more than 100 communities have contracts with alternative electricity suppliers expiring over the next six…...
First Quarter Report: $58,828 in Consumer Savings
While CUB’s legal and policy teams fought $6 billion in higher rates in the first quarter of 2016, the consumer advocacy and outreach departments were busy too, helping consumers save an estimated $58,828.08. According to CUB records, the outreach department–which holds money-saving events across Illinois–showed consumers how to cut their utility…...
