By Samantha Vercellino As cold grips the Midwest in the opening days of December, we’re forced to welcome natural gas prices that are up to 30 percent higher. Major Illinois utilities are charging consumers 13-30 percent more to heat their homes this December compared to last. Peoples Gas showed the…...
A less expensive winter?
By Samantha Vercellino The weather may be bitter cold now, but experts are predicting milder overall temperatures this winter, bringing Midwesterners out of their temporary hibernation, and hopefully, giving us a break on our bills. How big a break? Chicago utility Peoples Gas, which charged the highest gas rates in the state…...
Bracing for winter? CUB is!
At CUB we’re preparing for another busy winter. Are you ready? In the first half of 2014, CUB’s crew handled 2,507 complaints/inquiries from gas and electric customers reeling from polar vortex price spikes. That’s a 79 percent increase from the previous year. Despite this week’s burst of winter, the cold season isn’t…...
Double trouble: Glitch leads to bigger Nicor bills for thousands
The Bloomington Pantagraph reports that some 7,000 Nicor Gas customers on automatic payment plants were mistakenly charged double from June 13-15. Do you have your Nicor bill paid automatically out of your bank account? The gas utility recommends checking your bank account or calling Nicor, at 1-888-642-6748. Those who incurred bank…...
Energy report: What’s your gas utility charging?
As we approach the heart of the winter heating season, here’s a summary of what Illinois’ major utilities are charging for natural gas right now, compared with last November: Ameren Zone 1 (Formerly AmerenCIPS): 53.482 cents per therm (November 2012: 64.76 cents per therm) Ameren Zone 2 (Formerly AmerenCILCO): 53.673 cents…...
Good news for Ameren natural gas customers?
Ameren is predicting its customers will see lower natural gas prices this winter—but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll see lower bills. The utility says it expects prices to hover between 53 and 55 cents per therm, down about 5 percent from the prices customers paid last winter. But Ameren cautioned that lower prices don’t guarantee…...
CUB Analysis: Up To $37 Million Per Year In Potential EE Savings
CUB held news conferences across Illinois today to release a report that holds both good news and bad news for Illinois consumers. First the bad news: The Federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released state fact sheets that indicate Illinois is one of the biggest household energy users in the…...
