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energy efficiency

Cycle and save

Those hot summer days can be brutal on your electricity bills. One way to fight the summer-bill-blues is to take advantage of your utility’s energy efficiency incentives. Case in point: ComEd’s Smart Ideas® Central Air Conditioning Cycling. ComEd will credit you $5 or $10 off your monthly electric bill between June…...

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Natural gas rates: What will you pay in May?

It’s a sad state of affairs when Chicago’s gas rates are down–but still at their highest May price this decade. It doesn’t appear that utilities have posted final May prices on their websites, so CUB scanned tariff filings on the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) website to come up with some…...

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Take CUB’s Survey: Have you received a utility energy report?

Imagine this: You get a letter from your electric or gas utility that has colorful bar graphs and says something like this, “You used 21% more natural gas than your neighbors. That cost you about $102 extra.” Or maybe, your electricity/gas usage compares favorably to your neighbors and your  energy…...

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11 ways to save energy (and money) this winter

In CUB’s recent statewide campaign promoting energy efficiency, one of our messages was that efficiency has always been about making your home more comfortable, but using less energy. Now that federal experts have predicted Midwest natural gas bills will jump by 13 percent compared with last winter, it’s time to…...

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Win energy-saving prizes all month long!

October is “Energy Smart Month” at CUB, and we’re giving away a money-saving prize every week to celebrate. All you have to do is correctly answer CUB’s weekly quiz question on Facebook by noon each Friday for a chance to win. This week’s prize: 4 LED light bulbs capable of cutting…...

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The quest for a smarter power grid begins today

Today, Illinois’ biggest electric utility will begin installing digital “smart meters” in Chicago’s western suburbs, launching an ambitious plan to give 4 million customers new meters by 2021. These new meters, built in a plant on the city’s South side, are a symbol of high-tech upgrades, collectively called the “smart grid,”…...

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We’ve got a winner!

After some seriously good entries from fans of CUB, Douglas of Park Forest was chosen as the winner of our cartoon caption contest. Douglas was chosen randomly out of about 100 people who entered the contest. His caption — “I know it’s inconvenient, honey, but look at what we save in…...

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