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Nicor

CUB’s to-do list: $414 million in rate-hike battles

With new ComEd and Ameren Illinois rate-hike requests on the table, CUB’s legal team is now challenging $414.1 million in higher rates before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). (Send a message urging the ICC to say NO to the electric rate hikes!) Here’s a summary of all our battles: ICC…...

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Illinois gas utilities ring in the new year with higher rates

Illinois’ major gas utilities are kicking off 2021 by raising the price per therm for January. This across-the-board increase is on track with predictions made by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) at the beginning of this heating season. The price per therm you’re paying for natural gas in January, also…...

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Federal legislation gives Illinois $41 million boost in energy assistance

Illinois has received more than $41 million in extra assistance to help low-income consumers pay their electric and gas bills during the pandemic, thanks to the federal stimulus package that passed earlier this spring. The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a wide-ranging package designed…...

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Natural gas prices continue decline amid Coronavirus concerns

For the fifth consecutive month, most natural gas utilities have lowered their prices from the previous month as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the market. All prices  are lower than last May.  The price per therm you will pay for natural gas in May, also known as the Purchased Gas Adjustment,…...

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Struggling to pay your bills? These resources can help

With uncertain times come uncertain finances. Due to the public health emergency, you may have been laid off, your hours may have been cut, or you may have accrued unexpected medical expenses. Whatever the reason, paying your utility bills shouldn’t cause additional financial stress. These programs may be able to…...

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Are you being overcharged? Send us your bills

The last thing anybody needs in the middle of this crisis is to pay high utility bills. That’s why we’re continuing to analyze bills for Illinois consumers. “I’m afraid they may be overcharging me,” said one consumer who emailed her gas and electric bills to us. She was right: An…...

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Rate hike warning for Nicor customers

Nicor’s record-breaking $230M hike In November, just months after receiving a $93.5 million delivery increase, Nicor Gas was back at the ICC, asking for a $230 million rate hike. “This is the largest natural gas rate-hike request CUB has seen in 35 years of fighting for Illinois consumers, and it’s fueled by a massive profit rate…...

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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…...

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Nicor disconnects service over 9-year-old balance

Ashley went 10 days without gas after Nicor charged her for a $1,200 balance from where she lived in 2009. That year, Ashley was forced to leave her Rockford home when the city condemned it. The house was boarded up and left unlivable. After the house was restored, a resident…...

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Anatomy of a Bad Deal

When Robert Smith’s gas bills suddenly shot up, he was confused. He was supposed to be paying less for gas with alternative gas supplier Energy Rewards than with the regulated utility in his area, Nicor. So he sat down to compare what he had been paying with Energy Rewards to…...

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