The Illinois Attorney General’s office, the City of Chicago and CUB call for the end of a damaging gas surcharge in a new Crain’s Chicago Business analysis that finds the troubled Peoples Gas pipeline-replacement program the surcharge helps fund “appears all but certain to exceed” its latest cost estimate by…...
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…...
City of Chicago commits to 100% renewable energy by 2025
The City of Chicago has announced its transition to 100% clean energy by 2025, making it one of the largest city governments in the country to commit to reducing its carbon footprint. “I am incredibly proud to advance this commitment to transitioning all city operations to 100% renewable energy by 2025,”…...
It’s time to rethink heat in Chicago
By Chicago Alderman Brendan Reilly and David Kolata, CUB Executive Director If ever there was an absolute certainty, it’s that the controversial Peoples Gas pipeline-replacement program is setting up Chicago residents for an economic disaster, unless we act now. The company’s decades-long plan to replace gas mains throughout the city…...
Chicago becomes national leader with EV ordinance that’s good for pocketbook, planet
Chicago has joined a small circle of U.S. cities pioneering policies to prepare for the projected growth in electric vehicles (EVs). On Friday, the City Council passed an ordinance that opens the door to cost-effective expansion of charging equipment in residential and commercial buildings. It’s called the Electric Vehicle Supply…...
We like headlines like this: “Regulators order Peoples Gas to repay $7.2 million to customers”
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has announced that Peoples Gas has agreed to give about $7.2 million back to its customers in connection with a review of the 2015 costs of the utility’s troubled pipeline-replacement program. This is the result of a settlement involving the utility and the staff of…...
Fake news? Not to customers paying high Peoples Gas bills
In a recent earnings call, Gale Klappa, the CEO of WEC Energy Group (the parent of Peoples Gas), tried to dodge ongoing reports by Crain’s Chicago Business that the utility’s pipeline-replacement program is mismanaged, over-budget and on the verge of sparking a heating-affordability crisis in Chicago. “I hate to use…...
The heating-affordability crisis
By Bryan McDaniel CUB’s Director of Governmental Affairs CUB has been working with other consumer advocates to reform the Peoples Gas pipeline-replacement program–the utility’s mismanaged project that threatens to spark what Crain’s Chicago Business called a “heating-affordability crisis.” Last week I came face-to-face with the heating-affordability crisis. I met with…...
Chicago’s looming disaster?
Did you know that last winter, you paid 80 percent more for natural gas service, on average, than your friends and relatives in the suburbs? And a big reason appears to be the mismanaged Peoples Gas pipe-replacement program. That’s what Crain’s Chicago Business reported in a recent story with this ominous…...
Are rising gas prices pushing Chicagoans to EVs?
Whether you’re environmentally conscience or searching for better economic choices, Electric Vehicles (EVs) present benefits across the board, especially in cities with rising gas prices, like Chicago. A spokesman for AAA said earlier this month that Chicago’s average gas price was $3.46 a gallon, a 35 percent increase from last…...
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