At CUB we get a lot of calls from consumers who have questions about renewable energy plans that get pitched to them by alternative suppliers. These “green plans” are a legitimate choice, but some people have complained about exorbitant rates. If you’re shopping in the market, you should have all…...
Sign CUB’s Pledge: Defend Efficiency
In the past, we’ve alerted you about White House budget plans that would eliminate strong energy efficiency programs like Energy Star, which since its beginning in 1992 has saved residential and business customers more than $360 billion dollars on their utility bills. That’s why this Earth Month (April), it’s so…...
The day in the life of a CUB outreach staffer…
By Annabelle Roser As solar energy becomes more accessible to everyday consumers, the financial incentives of owning solar panels can be hard to pass up. The benefits of subsidizing or eliminating your energy bills through net-metering can be especially enticing to retirees or those on fixed incomes. Recently, I met…...
Hot tip: ComEd’s Hourly Pricing program might be right for you!
More than a million Illinois consumers are with alternative suppliers, but CUB would like to alert people to yet another choice: Commonwealth Edison’s Hourly Pricing program. The program lets customers take advantage of hourly market-based electricity rates, which tend to be lower during nights and weekends. While not for everyone, thousands of…...
One step closer to stopping Ameren’s attack on energy efficiency
This week our legal team received some good news: An Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) judge has recommended that the full ICC reject Ameren Illinois’ proposal to increase its customer charge by 9 percent. (Read CUB’s statement on the development.) Last August, the company had made the proposal, but CUB, Environmental…...
Stop: The “Raise Our Utility Bills Act”
New legislation was introduced in Washington this month that would kill efficiency standards and potentially hit Americans with billions of dollars in higher utility costs. H.R. 117 is called the “Energy Efficiency Free Market Act of 2017,” but a better name would be the “Raise Our Utility Bills Act.” The…...
General Assembly passes historic energy efficiency standards
On the last day of the General Assembly’s veto session, legislators passed Senate Bill 2814, a measure that will spark lower utility bills by establishing historic energy efficiency standards for Illinois’ biggest electric utilities. On Thursday evening, the Illinois House passed the measure, also called the “Future Energy Jobs Bill,” 63-38,…...
