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Rate hike

CUB applauds ICC for standing up for ComEd, Ameren customers, holding utilities accountable in unprecedented regulatory rulings

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) on Thursday ruled on record ComEd and Ameren Illinois electric rate-hike requests. In the rulings, the ICC rejected the multi-year grid plans proposed by Ameren and ComEd for lacking any proof of their affordability, slashed the excessive shareholder profit rates pushed by the companies and…...

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CUB applauds regulators for rejecting Peoples Gas “theatrics,” as ICC opposes latest bid to additional rate hike

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) Thursday unanimously derailed a request by Peoples Gas to claw back $134 million of disallowed funding for its pipeline-replacement program in 2024. If approved, the motion would have added about $8 million to the record $300 million rate hike the utility received last month. Peoples Gas executives threatened…...

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CUB Update: Illinois Commerce Commission announces new, expedited schedule for rate-hike decisions

Update: The final order on Nicor’s request for a $320 million rate hike has been delayed due to a late motion by some parties (not CUB) in the case. It’s likely the Nicor order will be moved to Nov. 16, with the other decisions in the gas cases (Peoples/North Shore…...

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CUB calls on ICC to reject record rate hike for Peoples Gas after agency official recommends big increase for utility

An administrative law judge for the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has issued a “proposed order” recommending that the ICC approve a record-high $350 million rate hike for Peoples Gas, awarding the company the vast bulk — 87 percent —of the $402 million increase it has sought from regulators.  The recommended…...

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Update on record-breaking rate hikes in 2023

By Eric DeBellis CUB General Counsel  Regulatory Counsel Laura Loyd and I are dealing with a record six rate cases, totaling a whopping $2.9 billion.  Where do the rate cases stand? Over the past year, CUB has filed expert testimony uncovering the utilities’ attempts to get state regulators to approve…...

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Join the fight against $2.9 billion in rate hikes

By Eric DeBellis CUB General Counsel As you know, Laura Loyd and I (CUB’s legal team) are fighting a record six rate cases in 2023, and I just wanted to give you an update as to where we’re at in those battles. What’s left to do in these cases?  Now…...

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Regulators say NO to Peoples, Nicor Gas

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has ordered a $15.4 million refund for Peoples Gas customers and most recently a refund of more than $31 million for Nicor Gas customers, two votes that may signal a tougher stance towards utilities whose rampant spending has helped spark a heating-affordability crisis in Illinois.…...

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Disturbing new Peoples Gas filings shine light on mismanagement, stonewalling in troubled pipeline program

New filings with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) reveal a disturbing pattern of mismanagement of the troubled Peoples Gas pipeline-replacement program, with the company not answering basic questions about the program and admitting it hasn’t done an overall cost-analysis in nearly a decade. (Read the joint release from Illinois PIRG…...

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10 burning questions (and answers) about the 2023 rate-hike barrage

As CUB and other consumer advocates challenge a record $2.9 billion in utility rate-hike requests, here are 10 things you should know about the rate hikes. 1) How much are the utilities asking for?  The rate hikes would impact more than 5 million customers across Illinois. The chart below shows…...

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Another way to take action against $2.9B in rate-hike requests: File a public comment with the ICC

In the wake of the $2.9 billion barrage of utility rate-hike requests there is yet another way to join the fight against these proposed gas and electric increases: File a public comment with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).  We’ve made it easy to do with the links below. If you’re…...

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