Today, CUB and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) urged ComEd and Ameren to offer optional “Time-of-Use” pricing plans in Illinois. Such plans would reward energy-efficient customers for shifting electricity use away from “peak” hours–when demand is high, prices skyrocket, and power plants produce the most pollution. These plans would not only save individual…...
Coalition: Improved efficiency, renewable energy standards could spark 30,000 jobs a year
For years, CUB has been saying that efficiency and renewable energy are good for our economy. Today, we’ve got numbers to back it up. At a news conference this morning, 55 business, environmental, labor and consumer advocacy leaders (including CUB Executive Director David Kolata) announced the formation of the Illinois…...
Congrats to CUB’s Love to Save Winner!
By Samantha Vercellino Congratulations, Pedro of Mount Prospect who beat out 274 consumers to win $100 off his utility bill AND a $50 Amazon gift card for practicing energy efficiency. Last week, Pedro and other consumers entered our energy efficiency contest. To qualify for the drawing, they had to join…...
Consumer Alert: Highest prices in the Illinois electric market
The Illinois electric market can be confusing (and expensive!) but CUB is here to help. We reviewed more than 100 individual offers from alternative electric suppliers across Illinois and we want to warn you about the highest prices we found. Some of these rates about double that of the regulated utility! In ComEd territory,…...
Energy saving tips to eat up this Thanksgiving
By Samantha Vercellino Thanksgiving is fast approaching and many Americans are gearing up to cook a traditional holiday feast that will leave family and friends in a food coma. But gathering around the table can be a pricey affair, especially when total U.S. spending on Thanksgiving dinner is $2.4 billion. So, before heading…...
A less expensive winter?
By Samantha Vercellino The weather may be bitter cold now, but experts are predicting milder overall temperatures this winter, bringing Midwesterners out of their temporary hibernation, and hopefully, giving us a break on our bills. How big a break? Chicago utility Peoples Gas, which charged the highest gas rates in the state…...
Bracing for winter? CUB is!
At CUB we’re preparing for another busy winter. Are you ready? In the first half of 2014, CUB’s crew handled 2,507 complaints/inquiries from gas and electric customers reeling from polar vortex price spikes. That’s a 79 percent increase from the previous year. Despite this week’s burst of winter, the cold season isn’t…...
