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Updates

Op-Ed: Here’s why our gas bills are skyrocketing

By David Kolata, CUB executive director CUB has been sounding the alarm for months about soaring natural gas bills, as we could be on the hook to pay hundreds of dollars more to heat our homes this winter. You can blame your high bills on two reasons: Skyrocketing natural gas…...

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New electric rates for ComEd and Ameren customers in 2022

As of Jan. 1, ComEd and Ameren are charging new electricity rates. CUB breaks it all down.   DELIVERY RATES What are delivery rates?  Electric bills have two parts: delivery and supply. All of us pay delivery rates to cover the utilities’ costs of sending electricity over their wires to our…...

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Heating prices still painfully high, as January opens with a cold blast

As frigid weather descended upon Illinois in the new year, CUB staffers were busy answering calls from consumers wondering why their heating bills were so high. In January, the price per therm many consumers are paying for natural gas, also known as the Purchased Gas Adjustment, or PGA, is 41…...

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Take CUB’s utility bill survey—You could win $100!

2021 was a tough year for utility consumers with millions of dollars in rate hikes and skyrocketing natural gas prices. Please take a second and take our poll: What was your most expensive utility bill throughout last year? These surveys help us better understand what Illinois consumers are going through.…...

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Upcoming CUB events in January 2022

Happy New Year everyone! CUB looks forward to continuing the fight for consumer protections and clean, affordable energy in 2022.  One major way we do that is by staffing hundreds of free events that can help you improve energy efficiency at home and protect your bottom line. We hope to…...

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Major CUB victories over the years

Centel refund/rate cut, 1986: $2,000,000 Blocked Nicor Gas rate hike, secured refund, 1987: $40,000,000 Peoples/North Shore Gas rate cut/refund, 1987: $27,000,000 ComEd rate deal rejected, 1987: $1,320,000,000 Overturned ComEd rate hike, 1987: $245,000,000 Illinois Power rate deal blocked, 1988: $3,000,000,000 ComEd rate deal overturned, 1989: $750,000,000 ComEd rate case settlement, 1993: $1,679,000,000 Ameritech rate cut, 1994: $465,000,000 10-year rate…...

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Illinois home to lowest electric bills in the Midwest, nine years running

For the ninth consecutive year, Illinois had the lowest average electricity bills in the Midwest, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).  Illinois, which at one point had the highest bills in the Midwest, has now had the lowest since 2012. But there’s so much more to do, which…...

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AT&T raises prices for Consumer’s Choice landline plans

AT&T has once again raised prices for its Consumer’s Choice landline calling plans. See the new prices below: Plan Monthly Fee Plan Details Call Plan 30 Downtown Chicago: $16.25 Rest of Chicago and adjacent suburbs: $19.25 Rest of Illinois: $20.75 30 local (bands A and B) calls (to places within…...

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2021 Year in Review: Fighting for historic legislation, beating back millions in higher rates

Amid an ongoing pandemic and skyrocketing energy prices, CUB in 2021 sued a scandal-plagued utility, beat back millions of dollars in rate hikes and helped pass historic energy legislation. “I am proud of how our staff battled through yet another difficult year, but consumers deserve the credit,” CUB Executive David…...

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CUB’s new money-saving kit

Below is a list of resources to help you protect yourself from scams, decode your electric bills and find ways to save. Watch this video about identifying alternative supplier ripoffs on your bills: ComEd and Ameren. Learn about the electric market and your options for electric supply: ComEd andAmeren. Your utility’s demand response…...

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