By Stephanie Zimmerman Chicago Sun-Times Utility bills can be confusing, but the nonpartisan Citizens Utility Board of Illinois has helped save consumers an estimated $20 billion in blocked rate hikes and refunds over the past 40 years. Yet not everyone knows about the group’s role in representing ratepayers, says CUB’s…...
Thank you, Illinois consumers: Executive Director’s 2024 End-of-Year Report
By Sarah Moskowitz, Executive Director, Citizens Utility Board Below is my year-in-review for 2024–the Citizens Utility Board’s 40th anniversary. As I write this, there are several rate-hike battles that are up in the air before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), so my report will be updated in the weeks ahead.…...
Illinois Future of Gas: Electrification Meeting Pt. I – November 4, 2024
By: Scott Allen, Energy Policy Specialist Today’s Future of Gas workshop began with an announcement: between now and Dec. 6, 2024, the ICC will be accepting decarbonization pilot project ideas from interested stakeholders. It wasn’t immediately clear how these pilots could be put into effect–or indeed if they ever would…...
CUB to utility exec: Stop downplaying rate hike!
Addressing a packed public forum about a proposed rate hike that could average up to $27-$29 per month, a utility executive downplayed the increase by saying it “will be less than a dollar-a-day….” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz sparked applause at the forum when she said: “A ‘dollar a day’…...
CUB alerts Illinois consumers to new fall/winter power prices
As of October 1, Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois are charging a new “price to compare,” the price customers should compare to alternative supplier offers, according to PlugInIllinois.gov, the state of Illinois’ electric competition website. ComEd Supply Rate: October 2024 – May 2025 6.47 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) Note: This…...
CUB’s money-saving events in October
With the onset of the winter heating season, CUB’s Outreach team will travel Illinois and staff free events to give consumers energy efficiency tips for their home, educate them on how clean energy can cut their utility bills and help people protect themselves from scams and rip-offs. We hope to…...
‘Stop corporate greed’: Private water customers pack public forums to protest high water bills, poor service and Aqua, Illinois American rate hikes
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) held five public forums on proposals by the state’s two biggest private water companies to raise bills by up to nearly $30 a month, and the events reinforced something that CUB has known for years: Private water customers are fed up with rapidly escalating water…...
