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…...
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…...
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…...
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…...
“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.…...
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…...
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…...
