What happened? Historic clean energy legislation that Illinois adopted last year is paying off for ComEd customers in the form of a monthly credit estimated to average about $20 on electricity bills starting June 1st. In a filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), ComEd announced it would give customers…...
CUB statement on Ameren’s $57.6 million electric rate hike
Ameren’s Illinois’ $57.6 million formula rate hike just adds to consumers’ pain in an already difficult year. In addition to this electric delivery rate hike, in 2021 consumers have endured significant increases in gas and electricity supply rates as well as a $76 million gas delivery rate hike. Ameren customers…...
Q&A on the ComEd and Ameren Formula Rates for 2021
What happened? On Wednesday, Dec. 9, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved delivery rate cuts for Ameren Illinois and ComEd customers. The ICC voted to give ComEd a delivery rate decrease of about $14 million. The state regulatory body OK’d a decrease of about $48.7 million for Ameren. The lower…...
Breaking News: Consumer Victory at the ICC!
Victory for Consumers! The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) voted 3-2 on Thursday against lifting a ban on door-to-door marketing by alternative energy suppliers during the pandemic. The ICC was considering a proposal by the commission’s staff that was supported by alternative energy suppliers. CUB argued that door-to-door marketing was needlessly…...
Consumer Alert: Could alt suppliers be knocking on your door again?
Breaking News Update, Nov. 5: Victory for Consumers! The Illinois Commerce Commission voted 3-2 today to keep the moratorium in place. Thank you to all the Illinoisans who used CUB’s Action Network to help send 1,000 messages to state regulators in favor of keeping the ban in place. Your activism makes…...
Consumer losses from alternative electric suppliers exceed $1 billion
Illinois has reached a grim milestone in the history of electric competition in the state: Residential consumers have now lost more than $1 billion to alternative electric suppliers since 2015, according to a new report from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). More than 1.67 million ratepayers are signed up with…...
Consumer advocates fight for extended COVID-19 protections for utility customers
After a historic agreement between consumer advocates and Illinois’ major utilities, state regulators are now considering the most comprehensive COVID-19 utility relief measures in the country. This plan could serve as a national model for helping utility customers struggling to pay their bills during the worst economic crisis since the…...
Statement by CUB Executive Director David Kolata on ICC Consumer Protection Measures Amid COVID-19 Crisis
We thank state regulators for their pro-consumer actions today. These are uncertain times, and the last thing consumers need is to have their utility service interrupted, or to have their health threatened by alternative supplier sales representatives knocking on their doors. As this public health crisis unfolds, we need to…...
It could be an expensive winter
Midwestern homes that heat with natural gas on average could see a 14.5 percent increase in bills this winter, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). But gas customers in Central and Southern Illinois are seeing their costs go down. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) says consumers will see higher heating bills due…...
