In October, ComEd customers will receive a one-time refund totaling about $80 million. Here’s what you should know: The per-kilowatt-hour credit, labeled the “energy efficiency credit,” works out to nearly $14 for the average ComEd residential customer. The credit is the result of a refund requested by ComEd…...
AT&T slapped her neighbors with $6,461 bill, CUB member knew who to call
Retirees Paula and Anastasio had no idea that their kind-hearted attempt to help a great-grandson with his schoolwork would somehow lead to a $6,461 AT&T bill. But that’s what happened until their helpful neighbor, a CUB member, came to the rescue (with a little assist from the consumer watchdog). The couple,…...
Tell Congress: Protect my Privacy!
Almost 143 million U.S. consumers — nearly half the country — may have had their personal data stolen when hackers targeted credit rating agency Equifax in “the most brazen failure to protect consumer data we have ever seen,” according to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. Members of Congress have demanded…...
Equifax data breach: What you need to know
What happened? On Sept. 7, the credit reporting agency Equifax announced that hackers had broken into its computer network, exposing the personal information of up to 143 million U.S. consumers — nearly half the country. At first Equifax reported that the hack happened between May 13 and July 29. But…...
“Peaking” your interest? Consumers question why they haven’t received peak-time alerts this summer
Here’s the text that CUB General Counsel Julie Soderna received the day after she earned $7.50 in bill credits for participating in the Peak Time Savings program. (Good job, Julie!) Peak Time Savings (ComEd) and Peak Time Rewards (Ameren Illinois) are two no-cost, money-saving programs that CUB has encouraged people,…...
CUB statement on new consumer protections for IL electric customers
Statement: Although we disagree with efforts by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to weaken certain consumer protections, the new rules are a step in the right direction to protect Illinois consumers from misleading marketing by alternative power suppliers. You can’t have a healthy electricity market without strong consumer…...
What companies have the highest power prices in Illinois?
Ivonne Ortiz, CUB’s Environmental Outreach Coordinator, researches the prices offered by Illinois’ alternative electricity suppliers each week, and she has some significant updates for you: Supplier sued. State Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against Sperian Energy, seeking to bar the supplier from the Illinois market. The attorney general’s lawsuit…...