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electric bills

News release: CUB urges ICC to cut ComEd rate hike

As CUB prepared to argue that state regulators should cut Commonwealth Edison’s $678 million rate-hike request, the consumer group has identified hundreds of millions of dollars in excessive spending proposed by Illinois’ largest electric utility. (Read the full CUB news release from Tuesday, Nov. 19.) “We urge the Illinois Commerce Commission…...

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Rip-off Alert: Paying more than triple for power?

This summer CUB found consumers in different parts of Illinois paying an electricity supply rate with Clearview Energy that was more than triple what they would have paid with their utilities. At a utility-bill clinic in Lansing in June, CUB found that Dan was paying Clearview 22.99 cents per kilowatt-hour…...

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CUB alerts Illinois consumers to new fall/winter power prices

As of October 1, Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois are charging a new “price to compare,” the price customers should compare to alternative supplier offers, according to PlugInIllinois.gov, the state of Illinois’ electric competition website. ComEd Supply Rate: October 2024 – May  2025 6.47 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) Note: This…...

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CUB’s money-saving events in October

With the onset of the winter heating season, CUB’s Outreach team will travel Illinois and staff free events to give consumers energy efficiency tips for their home, educate them on how clean energy can cut their utility bills and help people protect themselves from scams and rip-offs. We hope to…...

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Chicago Tribune excerpt: Consumer watchdog helps solar roof shoppers cut through the confusion

CUB Note: The following is an excerpt from a Sept. 3, 2024 Chicago Tribune story by Nara Schoenberg on the Solar Switch Chicagoland program, which CUB promotes. You can read the full version of the Tribune story here. Dawn Stockmo wanted solar panels for her Oak Park Victorian, but a…...

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CUB’s money-saving events in September

As we head into fall, CUB’s Outreach team will be busy staffing free events to help Illinois consumers learn how to reduce their utility bills and protect themselves from scams. We hope to see you at one of these September events. 6:30 p.m. –  7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 3, Understanding…...

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CUB: ComEd, Ameren customers have lost $1.8B to alternative power suppliers since 2015; consumer group issues statewide warning against bad deals

Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois customers who have chosen alternative electricity suppliers have lost a combined total of about $297 million over the last year and $1.8 billion since 2015, CUB says, citing annual state reports on electricity competition. While ComEd and Ameren deliver electricity to their customers over the…...

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CUB’s money-saving events in August

CUB’s Outreach team will be busy in August staffing free events to help Illinois consumers learn how to cut their energy bills, avoid energy rip-offs and combat high cable bills and annoying robocalls. We love meeting people across Illinois–so we hope to see you in the community! 6:30 – 7:30…...

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The good, the bad, and the ugly at the nation’s largest power grid operator

By Clara Summers, Campaign Manager Consumers for a Better Grid (a project of CUB) It’s been a busy summer advocating for electric customers at PJM, a power grid operator that controls the flow of electricity over big transmission lines that stretch across northern Illinois and all or parts of a…...

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CUB Q&A: What’s happening to solar power in Illinois in 2025? 

A solar benefit called “net metering” is NOT going away in 2025, but it is changing, under state law.    What is net metering? Net metering is a benefit for solar users. Under Illinois law, investor-owned utilities (ComEd, Ameren, MidAmerican) are required to offer net metering for renewable energy generation…...

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