“I feel that if my wife and I can do this, it’s within reach of a lot of people…” — Gary Freymiller CUB Board Member Gary Freymiller hopes his experience electrifying his home can help others choose the best path to cleaner, more efficient heating and cooling. “I feel that if…...
CUB Capitol Report: Our 2026 Legislative Agenda Aims to Fight Rip-offs, Rein in High Private Water Bills, Eliminate Ridiculous Utility Charges, Make AT&T Pay Up
By Bryan McDanielCUB Director of Governmental Affairs Springfield’s November Veto Session was busy with the passage of the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act. CUB supported the bill as a response to rapidly rising power prices–but there is more work to do, as data centers continue to place a…...
PJM Capacity Auction Leads to Record Price Spike for Second Straight Year, Threatens Even Higher Com Ed Bills in 2026-27
CUB released the following statement: While we are relieved that the negotiated price cap prevented capacity costs from soaring even higher, this record price spike is unacceptable. CUB is deeply concerned that ComEd customers will continue to bear painfully high costs for another year, largely because of policy shortcomings from…...
Electrifying news: Utilities offer home rebates, discounts for moving from gas to electricity
By: Kate Shonk CUB Sustainable Communities Liason At almost every outreach event, CUB staff fields questions on electrification. Now more than ever, it’s clear consumers are curious about alternatives to gas, and now more than ever there are financial incentives to help them make that switch. Because electric supply can…...
CUB Q&A: Winter storm exposes the myth of fossil fuel reliability
By Sarah Moskowitz, CUB Deputy Director This past Christmas Eve, as many of us were busy with last-minute holiday preparations, CUB rushed out an email to people in northern Illinois with this ominous subject line: ALERT: Power grid operator calls for energy conservation over the next 24 hours. We were…...
$10.3B renewable energy transmission project long-term response to capacity shortage
The power grid operator for Central and Southern Illinois has approved a $10.3 billion transmission line project that in the long term will bring more clean energy to the region and help prevent problems that have slammed electric customers with skyrocketing power bills this summer. The project, approved by the…...
Ameren offers $500,000 in assistance, and special payment plans have July 31 deadline
In a summer of skyrocketing power prices, Ameren Illinois announced it is using $500,000 in shareholder funds to give relief to electric customers–and until July 31 it is offering certain customers friendlier plans to pay off debt. The Residential Assistance Credit is in response to the highest electricity prices CUB…...
Q&A: Hourly Pricing and price spikes
What is ComEd’s Hourly Pricing program? Under traditional rates, people pay a flat amount for electricity supply that changes only a few times a year. Hourly Pricing is an alternative pricing plan in which participants pay a supply rate that is subject to more immediate market conditions and can change…...
Tell CUB: How do you fight climate change? (You could win a prize!)
Recent United Nations (UN) reports on climate change have painted a grim picture of the current climate crisis. The good news is that the UN is optimistic that the consequences of climate change–extreme weather, rising water levels, droughts and more–can be avoided or lessened if we take action now. In…...
