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ARES

ICC stats: IL consumers have lost $1.6B with alternative suppliers since 2015, but Ameren customers saved last year

Illinois consumers have lost about $1.6 billion total to alternative suppliers since 2015–but Ameren customers, for a change, saw some savings last year, according to a review of annual reports from the Illinois Commerce Commission’s Office of Retail Market Development (ORMD).  Under Illinois law, ComEd, Ameren and MidAmerican customers are…...

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What you need to know about alternative electricity suppliers

During the summer months when electricity bills are on the rise, many consumers wonder if they should switch to an alternative supplier to cut down on their bills. But beware, these enticing offers are usually not as good as they seem.  Illinois electric customers have lost more than $1 billion…...

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What’s the difference between ARES plans and Community Solar?

By Marina Minic, CUB Solar Programs Administrator As we hold hundreds of events across the state, consumers sometimes ask us: What’s the difference between an alternative supplier offer and a relatively new option called Community Solar? The offers can sound deceptively similar, but there are big differences–and you should know…...

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Energy rip-offs have hit low-income communities hard, but here’s another reason the HEAT Act gives us hope

At CUB, we get reports that customers enrolled with alternative suppliers have been charged double or triple (or worse) for their electricity—and marketers have long preyed on the neighborhoods that can least afford to pay high power bills.   That’s yet another reason we’re dedicated to making sure a new reform…...

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HEAT Act would protect consumers from predatory alternative suppliers

Today CUB joined Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other consumer advocates urging the General Assembly to pass legislation to protect consumers from predatory practices and high costs from alternative energy suppliers “This legislation would right some of the wrongs in the alternative supplier industry,” said Bryan McDaniel, CUB’s Director…...

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CUB, AARP Illinois call for sweeping reforms of electric and gas markets in Illinois

This week, CUB held news conferences across the state (Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Alton and Champaign) calling on the General Assembly to pass sweeping reforms to protect customers from a wave of electric and gas rip-offs that we have seen in the market over the last few years. These are some…...

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Electric competition: Not the money saver it once was

The times are a’changing. When electric competition began in northern Illinois, it seemed like a sure bet for savings.  ComEd’s price at the time was high and electric customers could easily find deals by shopping the market of unregulated suppliers. But the era of easy savings is over, for now, in…...

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