(800) 669-5556

Blog

Take Action: Energy Star on the chopping block

The White House has released its official budget plan, and it calls for eliminating funding for Energy Star—an efficiency program that has cut utility bills by $430 billion. The good news: You can help win this battle by putting pressure on Congress—where there’s already bipartisan support for efficiency. For example, Alaska…...

Read more

New Ameren supply rate

People have been calling CUB wanting to know what Ameren’s new summer power price will be. Now we know! The price, effective June 1, is: 5.369 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh) What you need to know: *If you are an Ameren supply customer—meaning if you are NOT with an alternative supplier—this is what you…...

Read more

Do we REALLY want AT&T to determine IL’s telecom future?

Update: The AT&T bill CUB and other consumer advocates have fought against for months has passed the Illinois Senate. So now the fight moves to the Illinois House.   The legislation would allow AT&T to dictate our telecom future, and it would open the door for the phone giant to strip Illinois’…...

Read more

How to make your home bearable in a heat wave

With potentially dangerous heat on the horizon as the summer months come into focus, CUB has tips on how residents can keep their homes cool, safe and energy efficient. Remember these to stay comfortable during the dog days of summer: –Raising your thermostat by only two degrees and using a…...

Read more

Get your CUB pint glass TODAY!

Summer calls for celebrations, so it’s a perfect time to toast a historic victory that we accomplished together! Late last year, your activism (tens of thousands of messages sent to legislators) helped pass the Future Energy Jobs Act—and that’s good news for anyone committed to efficiency and lower utility bills.…...

Read more

ComEd’s summer power rate is going up 9%

People have been calling CUB wanting to know what ComEd’s new summer power price will be. We now know! Crain’s Chicago Business was the first to report that the price is: 6.892 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh) What you need to know: *If you are a ComEd supply customer—meaning if you are NOT…...

Read more

Illinois Internet Update

Update on the battle to protect our Internet: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week formally voted to move forward with a proposal to gut Internet consumer protections called “net neutrality.” We want to thank the 2,000 people who signed our initial petition earlier this month. Here’s why it’s important…...

Read more

Take action for Efficiency!

Watching daily developments in Washington, it’s easy to get discouraged. But as a nonpartisan group that works to lower utility bills, we want to alert you about good legislation on Capitol Hill—and give you a chance to take action. Just last week, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee recommended that…...

Read more

Slay “vampire power” with smart power strips

Appliances and electronics can suck up power even when you’re not using them. This wasteful “phantom” or “vampire” power can account for up to 20 percent of residential energy use. But a smart power strip can help tame this problem. It saves energy on devices that are on stand-by—they’re plugged in and…...

Read more

Decrease means new ComEd delivery rates

CUB Note: The following article only deals with delivery rates—what you pay ComEd to deliver power to your homes. As for another part of the bill, we are waiting to hear what ComEd’s new supply rate—what you pay for the actual electricity—will be on June 1. We expect to learn…...

Read more