Update: The final order on Nicor’s request for a $320 million rate hike has been delayed due to a late motion by some parties (not CUB) in the case. It’s likely the Nicor order will be moved to Nov. 16, with the other decisions in the gas cases (Peoples/North Shore…...
As ComEd and Ameren charge new winter rates, CUB issues statewide warning on alternative supplier rip-offs
As of October, ComEd and Ameren Illinois are charging new electricity supply rates, and customers should know what they are to avoid bad deals peddled by alternative electricity suppliers, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) said Thursday in a statewide consumer warning. The non-summer prices, through May 2024, are listed on…...
CUB alerts Ameren, ComEd customers to new power prices
As of October 1, ComEd and Ameren Illinois are charging new supply rates, and customers should know what they are to avoid bad deals from alternative electricity suppliers. The non-summer prices, through May 2024, are listed on the Illinois Commerce Commission’s electric choice website, PlugInIllinois.org: Ameren Illinois 8.107 cents per…...
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…...
CUB review: Most municipal aggregation offers saving money, but changes on horizon
Out of 485 active community power (“municipal aggregation”) offers, about 300 (62 percent) beat or at least matched the utilities’ summer supply rates, according to a CUB review of plans. But more than half (183) of those offers expire over the next year–many of them this December. This comparison covers…...
Should customers fund ComEd’s “marketing charm offensive”?
Crain’s Chicago Business recently wrote how ComEd wants customers to help pay for the utility’s “marketing charm offensive” in the wake of its corruption scandal. In a proceeding before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), Attorney General Kwame Raoul is urging state regulators to make ComEd, and not its customers, pay…...
CUB asks Illinois consumers to support the Ethics in Energy Act
It’s bad enough that utilities join industry and trade groups that push bad, anti-consumer policy. But it’s even worse that consumers actually foot the bill for those activities. That’s right, our monthly gas and electric bills help cover the utilities’ membership dues to groups that actively work against our interests. …...
Summer power prices for Ameren and ComEd
Ameren Illinois and ComEd supply customers will be paying new prices for electricity on June 1, as market prices ease. Prices skyrocketed last year, caused by a number of factors, including the volatility of the natural gas market, made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gas, which is often…...
CUB testimony recommends $914 million reduction in ComEd rate-hike request
Commonwealth Edison’s proposed four-year electric rate hike should be cut by at least $914.5 million, or more than 60 percent, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) said Tuesday, citing expert testimony it filed in the rate case. CUB Executive Director David Kolata said the watchdog expects to support additional reductions uncovered by the Illinois…...
