People have been calling CUB wanting to know what Ameren’s new summer power price will be. Now we know! The price, effective June 1, is: 5.369 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh) What you need to know: *If you are an Ameren supply customer—meaning if you are NOT with an alternative supplier—this is what you…...
Give yourself (and your power bill) a relaxing Fourth of July
By Sagar Dommaraju What better holiday than Independence Day to free yourself from high electricity costs. Follow these tips for the perfect Fourth of July weekend. First, take a holiday from the daily bustle and leave your electronics—computers, TVs, phones, printers—alone for the weekend. Make sure to unplug them completely…...
Free energy-saving products!
Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas and ComEd have all partnered to bring homeowners free and discounted energy-saving products to reduce their home’s energy and water use. Participants will receive a free personalized home energy assessment along with the installation of discounted energy-saving products: Programmable thermostat WaterSense® certified showerheads Pipe insulation Smart…...
Live in Illinois? Your Energy Data May be Easier for You to Access than Ever Before
By: David Kolata and Andrew Barbeau Knowledge is power – especially when it comes to electricity. And as Illinois’ biggest electric utility installs 4 million new digital, advanced meters across the state, people are on the brink of obtaining the intelligence they need to maximize the benefits of this smart…...
Winners of CUB’s giveaway take home smart thermostats
Congratulations to Thomas, of Walnut, and Richard, of Mount Prospect, on winning CUB’s smart thermostat giveaway. The two lucky winners beat out more than 2,000 other participants to take home the free, money-saving devices valued at about $250. For Thomas, who is in the process of moving to Putnam, winning the smart thermostat means he can…...
Price Spike! Send a message to regulators today
Just a few days ago we found out that a recent electricity auction could increase power bills for typical Northern Illinois households by more than $80 in 2018-2019. After a similar auction sparked a 30 percent increase in power prices for Central and Southern Illinois earlier this summer, CUB warned…...
Higher electric bills again?
Here we go again. For the second time in less than a year Illinois consumers—first in Central and Southern Illinois and now in Northern Illinois—face significantly higher electric bills because of a flawed power-pricing system. And while electric customers will take the hit, big power generators like Exelon, NRG and…...
Energy Efficiency: the Road to Savings
With the release of the federal Clean Power Plan (CPP) to reduce carbon emissions 32 percent nationally by 2030, the country is abuzz with energy efficiency talk. We all know that practicing energy efficiency is an important step to reducing harmful pollution, but did you also know these three facts? 1.) Energy efficiency…...
Storm safety tips
As the storms roll in, so does the risk of lightning, downed power lines, flooding and other electrical hazards. Follow these tips to protect yourself (and share with your neighbors too!): Downed power lines. The human body is a natural conductor of electricity, so downed power lines present a major…...
