Aside from this week’s brutal cold, warmer-than-normal winter weather is a big reason natural gas prices have plunged. Over the last four months, average prices for the major utilities have dropped by as much as 49 percent. “U.S. households will pay the lowest heating oil and natural gas bills this winter in…...
Illinoisans haven’t seen gas prices like this since…2001!
This isn’t a misprint: December’s natural gas prices are at their lowest point in nearly 15 years! Major Illinois utilities are charging consumers 26-48 percent less to heat their homes this December compared to last. Peoples Gas shows the biggest price drop of all, charging customers about 28 cents per…...
Gas Market Monitor: 9/10 alternative supplier offers have been money-losers
CUB’s free online tool, the Gas Market Monitor, has some startling findings about Northern Illinois’ natural gas market: 9 of 10 plans offered by unregulated suppliers have been money-losers since 2003. CUB announced the numbers in a news conference today to give Northern Illinois households a warning as they prepare for another long…...
Breaking: AG, CUB call for overhaul of Peoples Gas pipeline project
CUB has joined Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in calling for the restructuring of a costly and “disastrous” Peoples Gas pipeline-replacement project that is billions of dollars over budget. The development comes weeks after Crain’s Chicago Business reported that utility officials may have withheld ballooning cost estimates from regulators while…...
Crain’s Chicago Business: Did Peoples Gas lie?
A new auditor’s report shows that Peoples Gas knew the estimated cost for a disastrous pipeline replacement project had spiked to $8 billion…but the company kept that detail close to the vest as it sought approval for a lucrative merger, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. In June, Wisconsin Energy won Illinois Commerce…...
CUB endorsement: Programs to help lower your gas bills!
Over the summer, we asked our CUB Action Network members if they wanted to know more about CUB’s favorite energy efficiency programs. The answer was a resounding: YES! So without further adieu, here is a deep dive into two programs being offered to gas customers in Northern Illinois: the energySMART program from…...
Hello October, hello lower gas prices!
By Samantha Vercellino As October rolls in, consumers begin preparing themselves for the arrival of two things: Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Lattes and higher utility bills. But Illinoisans may be singing a different tune this heating season, because major Illinois utilities are charging consumers 25-27 percent less to heat their homes…...
Money-saving programs to brag about
By Samantha Vercellino Thanks to efficiency programs offered by Illinois’ major utilities saving energy—and money— is easier than ever before. CUB chose five of its favorite energy efficiency programs from across Illinois. (See them below in no particular order.) ComEd’s Lighting Discounts Lighten your utility woes by switching to newer energy-saving…...
Peoples Gas in the hot seat
It looks like we’re going to get some answers on Peoples Gas’ disastrous and costly pipeline replacement program— just as new estimates reveal projected costs for the program have ballooned to more than $8 billion (nearly four times the original estimate!). Chicago’s 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly introduced a resolution in today’s…...
