The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has ordered a $15.4 million refund for Peoples Gas customers and most recently a refund of more than $31 million for Nicor Gas customers, two votes that may signal a tougher stance towards utilities whose rampant spending has helped spark a heating-affordability crisis in Illinois.…...
Electrifying news: Utilities offer home rebates, discounts for moving from gas to electricity
By: Kate Shonk CUB Sustainable Communities Liason At almost every outreach event, CUB staff fields questions on electrification. Now more than ever, it’s clear consumers are curious about alternatives to gas, and now more than ever there are financial incentives to help them make that switch. Because electric supply can…...
What is Electrification? A CUB Explainer
What’s with all the buzz about electrification? CUB has a new “Better Heat” guide that explains this topic in-depth, but here’s a quick CUB explainer to help break it all down. What is electrification? Building electrification is the process of replacing fossil-fueled equipment like furnaces and natural gas stoves with…...
Announcing Grow Geo Chicagoland: Get the details on CUB’s new geothermal heat pump group-buy
By: David Weaver Carbon-Free Buildings Coordinator The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that geothermal heat pumps are the most energy-efficient system to heat and cool buildings and water. But how do they work? Will they work for my home? How much money will it save me? Should I make the…...
City of Chicago announces new building electrification plan
Chicago recently announced its building electrification plan to reduce emissions in the nation’s third-largest city, where nearly 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. The report recommends moving to electric heat of buildings over the next 20 years. First, it would change the City’s building codes to phase…...
Greenflation: Myth vs Fact
Amid headlines about record inflation, critics of clean energy policy have tried to blame it for the higher heating bills and the general surge in prices–they even use the term “greenflation.” But climate-friendly policy is not the cause of the high prices. The world was already grappling with pandemic-related supply…...
