By Clara Summers Director, CUB’s Consumers for a Better Grid Campaign Governance reform at PJM Interconnection was always going to be hard. PJM is a contradiction in so many ways: it sets rules for the electricity market like a government, but is a private corporation. Its decision-making is controlled by…...
Data centers and your electric bills
Power bills are going up across the country, and the surge in data center development is a big reason. These facilities, which house computer systems used for storing, processing, and distributing digital information, use a tremendous amount of electricity–the largest data centers can consume as much energy as a mid-sized…...
FERC rejection of PJM data center plan makes state action last hope to protect consumers
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a ruling on PJM Interconnection’s proposed large load plan, rejecting measures that would have held data centers accountable for their costs. The decision, which flies in the face of the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge, gives Big Tech the green light to…...
Statement: PJM governance reform package blocks greater role for states, shuts out consumers, and entrenches corporate influence
The following is a statement from Clara Summers, Director of the Consumers for A Better Grid Campaign, Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Illinois. (A printable pdf of this statement.) While there were some positive provisions consumer advocates fought for, today’s vote is yet another glaring example of how PJM’s stakeholder…...
CUB analysis: Don’t assume your town’s ‘municipal aggregation’ deal will save you money
More than 9 out of 10 community-negotiated power offers in Ameren Illinois territory are currently money-losers, while most of the offers in Commonwealth Edison territory are either about the same as or better than the utility supply price, according to a CUB review of data from the state of Illinois’…...
PJM enlists states in plan to hold Big Tech accountable for data center costs
PJM’s new plan would require data centers to bring their own energy or face power reductions—but relies on states to shield consumers from rising bills. After an uphill battle, CUB is relieved to deliver some promising news: It appears PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power grid operator, is finally taking…...
CUB review of state data: ComEd, Ameren residential customers have lost more than $2.3 billion to alternative power suppliers since 2015
Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois residential customers have lost a combined total of more than $206 million over the last year and more than $2.3 billion since 2015 to alternative electricity suppliers, according to the ICC’s Office of Retail Market Development’s annual report. (Read the pdf of CUB’s news release…...
In two cases before state regulators, CUB challenges Ameren rate hike, plus $300 million+ in questionable spending in utility’s grid plan
CUB alerted Ameren Illinois electricity customers to two cases before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) in which the watchdog is challenging a proposed rate hike from the utility as well as more than $300 million in questionable spending in the company’s proposed plan for upgrading the grid. (Read a pdf version…...
Will Illinois meet the moment to rein in data centers and save us from skyrocketing power bills?
By Sarah Moskowitz Executive Director Citizens Utility Board (CUB) (Note: A version of this opinion piece appeared in Crain’s Chicago Business on July 27, 2026.) This summer millions of Illinois consumers are paying power prices that are about 40-50 percent higher than what they were just two years ago, and…...
