The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) needs your help urging state legislators to pass a bill that shady electric suppliers don’t want. This bill combats a major problem in Illinois: electricity suppliers that price-gouge customers with bad deals. (We’ve seen customers paying up to five times the utility rate—sad.) The bill,…...
CUB featured on CBS 2
CUB was featured on Chicago’s CBS 2 last night warning consumers in ComEd territory that they could see a marketing barrage from alternative electricity suppliers over the next year. The consumer watchdog told reporter Dorothy Tucker that more than 100 communities have contracts with alternative electricity suppliers expiring over the next six…...
Gas prices are up–but don’t fall for these myths
Chicago-area natural gas prices this month are up 41-51 percent compared with last February–but don’t assume you’ll find better deals with an unregulated gas supplier. The most notable February increase is for Nicor Gas customers, who will see a 52 percent jump since last year, from 27 cents per therm to 41 cents…...
CUB featured on WGN-TV
WGN news last night ran a story that featured CUB’s petition to the Federal Communications Commission to ask for protections for cellphone data customers. The story profiles several customers receiving exorbitant bills for data overages, when they said they barely used their data at all. If you haven’t already, sign our…...
Victory! FERC rejects plan that could have sparked higher power bills in Central, Southern IL
CUB and other consumer advocates scored a major victory in Washington this week when federal regulators rejected a proposal that potentially would have cost Central and Southern Illinois consumers millions of dollars in higher power bills. On Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said no to a proposal by…...
CUB honored with consumer education award
The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative announced Monday that the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is a recipient of the group’s CLEAR Consumer Education Award for 2017. The annual CLEAR Awards, now in its fifth year, recognizes a utility, technology provider and nonprofit that serve as role models for smart grid consumer education…...
One step closer to stopping Ameren’s attack on energy efficiency
This week our legal team received some good news: An Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) judge has recommended that the full ICC reject Ameren Illinois’ proposal to increase its customer charge by 9 percent. (Read CUB’s statement on the development.) Last August, the company had made the proposal, but CUB, Environmental…...
Stop: The “Raise Our Utility Bills Act”
New legislation was introduced in Washington this month that would kill efficiency standards and potentially hit Americans with billions of dollars in higher utility costs. H.R. 117 is called the “Energy Efficiency Free Market Act of 2017,” but a better name would be the “Raise Our Utility Bills Act.” The…...
New electric rates for Ameren customers
Ameren customers may be pleasantly surprised to see their new electric rates for 2017, but CUB is fighting for an even bigger rate decrease. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved a $14.5 million Ameren electric rate decrease that took effect Jan. 1. CUB is glad that rates have dropped,…...
