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You’ll need an aspirin for these headaches

At CUB, we couldn’t do the work we do—saving individual  consumers hundreds of dollars on their utility bills, advocating for consumer protections in Springfield, and fighting rate-hike hungry energy companies—without support and input from our members.  That’s why we sent a survey out last November asking you  to rate your…...

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Support or Scam?

Think twice before you answer any calls from people claiming to be “customer support.”  They could be trying to scam you! In our recent scam alert survey, respondents alerted us to some new and nasty cons making the rounds.  We want to give consumers a heads-up about one deception that…...

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Protect my cable!

Comcast announced plans to buy Time Warner Cable in a $45 billion deal that unites the nation’s two largest cable/Internet providers. Before that happens, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must approve the merger. Cable customers have for years expressed frustration about lack of options, poor service and astronomical prices.  We can’t…...

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Would the real regulated gas company please stand up?

Annette Evans, consumer rights associate at CUB, recently received a call from a consumer whose gas bill had mysteriously skyrocketed to nearly $600.  After some sleuthing, Annette discovered the culprit: without her knowledge, the consumer had been signed up with Nicor Advanced Energy— an unregulated sister company of the utility…...

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Exelon’s ‘radioactive’ bailout plan?

The electricity market has been very good to ComEd-parent Exelon over the last decade, helping the company reap more than $21 billion in profits thanks to high power prices and its fleet of nuclear power plants. But times have changed: Wholesale prices have fallen, thanks to a surge in natural…...

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Rip-off response

Earlier this week, we issued tips to protect yourself from bad deals in the natural gas market.  More than 1,800 of you responded to our accompanying survey, and about 56 percent of you said you had encountered a pitch from an alternative gas supplier. Here were some of your experiences: “The person…...

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“She’s phenomenal!”

We received a call recently from a consumer ecstatic over the savings she discovered after speaking with one of our staffers at a utility bill clinic in Elmhurst. Theresia, of Wood Dale, learned how to shave $53.10 per month off her bills, thanks to guidance from CUB Environmental Outreach Coordinator Laura Goldberg.…...

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Put up your dukes: Time to take on rate hikes

In 2014, CUB is fighting more than half-a-billion dollars in rate-hike battles from ComEd, Ameren, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas (see the chart below). In response, we’ve established an emergency Consumer Defense Fund and we have a challenge for you:  Help us raise $50,000 by April 30th to cover…...

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Drumroll please…

More than 400 CUB supporters voted this week in our 30th Anniversary Cartoon Contest to pick their favorite artwork over the years.  The results are in, and the winning CUB cartoon is…. (Guess you all are fed up with those tedious customer service lines!) We are also happy to announce our grand…...

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How the Polar Vortex could still hit you… in June!

Winter may be over, but the pain of the polar vortex may soon show up on your energy bill. Alternative power supplier FirstEnergy intends to bill customers a one-time June surcharge to recover unexpectedly high costs incurred during the polar vortex, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. Ninety-eight of the 180 communities…...

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