Illinois Commerce Commission Archives | Citizens Utility Board

CUB Challenges Ameren’s $59.6 Million Electric Rate-Hike Request

Elizabeth — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 17:17:43 +0000

A year after receiving a significant electric rate hike, Ameren Illinois is back before state regulators hoping to increase its delivery rates by an extra $59.6 million, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) said Monday. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) last year approved a $308.6 million Ameren electric rate increase, phased in over four years, but a provision in state regulatory law allows the utility to petition the ICC to recover extra expenses in yearly “reconciliation” cases, if they go over-budget on capital expenditures. “We will always challenge wasteful spending by the utilities,” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said. ”And, while consumer protections have improved, we support ending this reconciliation benefit for utilities. If Ameren blows through its budget in a given year, customers shouldn’t have to pay the excess.” The ICC rejected Ameren’s first attempt at a four-year rate plan in 2023–in part because the utility didn’t do enough to show how the plan would be affordable or beneficial to customers. Ameren proposed a new plan last year, and the ICC approved a $308.6 million increase, spread out through 2027. Now, in its reconciliation case (Docket 25-0382), Ameren wants another $59.6 million. Consumer advocates, including CUB and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, have uncovered at least $14 million in wasteful spending in Ameren’s reconciliation proposal. Below are examples of unreasonable spending in Ameren’s proposal, CUB argues: $62,928 to cover expensive outside contractors for work on a nearly $775,000 project that the utility had originally planned to handle internally. (Note: Ameren claims CUB should have to prove this spending was unnecessary, but that’s burden-shifting: The utility is the one asking for a legal remedy [more money] and therefore has to explain why it was so necessary to hire outside workers.) $200,000 to cover an unexplained increase in meter-reading expenses. Given that most customers have new digital meters that can be remotely read–as opposed to old meters that require manual reading–these costs should be going down, not up. $10.8 million to “reimburse” Ameren shareholders for employee retirement benefit fund contributions the utility cannot prove its shareholders made. Ameren has repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, tried to foist this expense on customers in regulatory cases. But Ameren, apparently, hasn’t gotten the message and is once again trying to force its customers to foot the bill for this expense. In early November, the regulatory judges issued a “proposed order” in the case–which is their recommendation on how the ICC should rule. The proposed order backed about $9.8.million in reductions for Ameren. The five-member Commission can follow the regulatory judge’s recommendations, or adjust them up or down, as they see fit. The final ruling is expected no later than Dec. 20, with rates taking effect shortly after. CUB called for Ameren customers to sign a petition urging regulators to say no to wasteful spending in the reconciliation case.

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CUB Q&A: AT&T letters announce end of landline service in 2027

Elizabeth — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:22:49 +0000

AT&T has been mailing letters to customers announcing that it is ending “AT&T Residential Local Service,” its traditional copper landline service, a.k.a. plain old telephone service. Here’s our Q&A on what’s happening: What do the letters mean? For over a decade, the telecom giant has been making moves to phase out landline telephone service across the country. These letters represent the latest step in that process. One letter, to current customers of AT&T’s traditional landline phone service, informs them that their service will be discontinued “on or after March 15, 2027.” Another letter–some people have reported receiving both–informs customers that as of Oct. 15, 2025, traditional landline phone service is no longer being offered to new customers and current customers cannot make changes to their existing service. (This also means current customers who move cannot get a traditional landline when they re-establish service in a new location.) Can AT&T do this? Yes, unfortunately. The company has now received approval from state and federal officials to move forward on ending its landline service in Illinois. For many customers traditional landlines have served as a reliable, affordable connection to family and friends as well as necessities such as 911 service, home security systems and medical monitoring devices. So CUB worked for years to block AT&T from deregulating local phone service. Here’s a brief history: AT&T’s earliest attempts to deregulate local phone service began in a case at the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) in 2006. That led to a legal settlement between AT&T and CUB that created a series of low-cost, safe-harbor plans branded the “Consumer’s Choice” plans. The fight then shifted to the Illinois General Assembly, where, for about a decade, CUB and other consumer advocates stopped AT&T from ending the “carrier of last resort” provision in the Illinois Telecommunications Act. That provision required AT&T to offer landline service to customers in its Illinois territory who wanted it. However, in 2017 the General Assembly passed a rewrite of the Telecom Act that gave the green light to end landline service, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). (Note: In 2022, AT&T was fined $23 million by federal authorities for using bribery to pass the 2017 legislation.) Also in 2017, AT&T successfully lobbied to end the Telecom Act’s requirement that it offer the low-cost Consumer’s Choice plans. In the years since, AT&T has significantly increased the cost of plain old telephone service, driving more people off landlines. This year, the FCC gave final approval to AT&T’s request to discontinue its status of being Carrier of Last Resort in Illinois, leading to the letters sent this fall. How many customers does this impact? These developments only impact AT&T landline customers. As of June of 2024, Illinois still had about 552,000 landlines–many, if not most, of those being with AT&T. What are my options for phone service if I lose my landline? You could replace your service with digital phone service, also called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), through AT&T or another telecom company. You could also opt for cellular (wireless) service and ask to port your number to your cell phone. What should […]

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CUB Reacts To ICC Making Significant Cut To Nicor Gas Rate Hike

Elizabeth — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 20:34:03 +0000

CUB issued the following statement responding to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) ruling on Nicor Gas’ rate-hike request: Any heating bill increase is too much for Nicor’s 2.3 million customers, who have been hit with four previous rate hikes in the last eight years – a period when profits for the utility’s parent company have totaled an astronomical $25 billion. It’s beyond troubling that a corporation getting so fat on its own prosperity continues to demand ever greater financial sacrifices from its customers. Against this backdrop, we’re thankful that state regulators responded by derailing Nicor’s bid to raid consumers for costs that were blatantly inflated and unwarranted. In shrinking Nicor’s requested $314 million increase by about half, the ICC’s ruling today exceeds the reduction recommended by two administrative law judges last month by an ample margin and reaffirms the Commission’s commitment to holding utilities accountable for every expense they attempt to charge consumers. With winter heating season in full force, and prices for groceries and health care putting a squeeze on household budgets, conditions for consumers are extremely fragile. We urge state regulators to continue to crack down on profit-mongering by Illinois’ gas utilities so no one is forced to choose between paying for fuel to heat or food to eat. Background: On Nov. 19, 2025, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issued a final order in Nicor Gas’ request for a state-record $314.3 million rate hike (Docket #25-0055). The order reduced Nicor’s rate hike by 47 percent, or $146.5 million, making the final increase $167.8 million. Among the proposals in Nicor’s rate-hike request, CUB challenged the utility’s attempt to capture an outrageous 10.35 percent Return on Equity (ROE), or profit rate for shareholders. The ICC’s final order reduced the ROE to 9.6 percent. This is Nicor’s fifth rate hike since 2017. Between 2017 and 2024, the utility has raised delivery rates by 114 percent, totaling $747 million, and its parent, Southern Co., has raked in about $25 billion in profits. Today’s increase adds to the total rate hikes since 2017. This increase impacts delivery rates, which take up about a third to a half of gas bills. It’s what Nicor charges customers to cover the costs of delivering gas to homes—plus a profit. The original rate hike was expected to hit customers with an average bill increase of about 9.28 percent, or about $7.70 per month. The ICC order means bills will still go up, but not as much as Nicor wanted. Warning: Even customers who pay an alternative gas supplier still pay Nicor’s delivery charges. So customers should beware of any sales representative who says they can avoid the rate hike by going with an alternative supplier. All Nicor customers pay these higher rates. Customers having trouble paying their bills should contact their utility to find out about assistance available, and the Help Illinois Families call center, at 1-833-711-0374, to learn more about the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Nicor is Illinois’ largest gas utility, serving 2.3 million residential, public sector and business customers.

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CUB Reacts To ICC Making Significant Cut To Ameren Gas Rate Hike

Elizabeth — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 20:26:28 +0000

CUB issued the following statement Wednesday in response to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC)’s ruling on Ameren Illinois’ gas rate-hike request: Any heating bill increase is too much for Ameren’s more than 800,000 gas customers, who have already been hit by four rate hikes in the last seven years – a period when profits for the utility’s gas operations have ballooned by a whopping 112 percent. At a time when Ameren is experiencing such unbridled prosperity, it shouldn’t be forcing its customers into more economic hardship. Against this backdrop, we’re thankful that state regulators responded by derailing Ameren’s bid to raid consumers for costs that were blatantly inflated and unwarranted. In shrinking Ameren’s requested $129 million increase by more than 40 percent, the ICC’s ruling today exceeds the reduction recommended by two administrative law judges last month by an ample margin and reaffirms the Commission’s commitment to holding utilities accountable for justifying every expense they attempt to charge consumers. With winter heating season in full force, and prices for groceries and health care putting a squeeze on household budgets, conditions for consumers are extremely fragile. We urge state regulators to continue to crack down on profit-mongering by Illinois’ gas utilities so no one is forced to choose between paying for fuel to heat or food to eat. Background: On Nov. 19, 2025, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issued a final order in Ameren Illinois’ proposal (Docket #25-0084) for a $128.8 million rate hike. The order reduced Ameren’s rate hike by 43 percent, or $55.8 million, making the final increase about $73 million. Among the proposals in Nicor’s rate-hike request, CUB challenged the utility’s attempt to capture an outrageous 10.7 percent Return on Equity (ROE), or profit rate for shareholders. The ICC’s final order reduced the ROE to 9.6 percent. This is Ameren’s fourth rate hike since 2018. In that time, the gas utility has raised delivery rates by $202 million, or 50 percent. Plus, the utility’s parent company, Ameren, has increased profits by 45 percent for a total of $6.9 billion, and Ameren Illinois’ gas segment has seen its profits more than double. Today’s increase adds to the total rate hikes since 2018. This increase, which will take effect before the end of the year, impacts delivery rates. Delivery rates, which take up about a third to a half of gas bills, are what the utilities charge customers to cover the costs of delivering gas to homes—plus a profit. The original rate hike was expected to hit customers with an average bill increase of roughly $8-$10 per month. The ICC order means bills will still go up, but not as much as Ameren wanted. Customers having trouble paying their bills should contact their utility to find out about assistance available. They also can call the Help Illinois Families call center, at 1-833-711-0374, to learn more about the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Ameren Illinois delivers gas to more than 800,000 customers in Illinois. The electric and gas utility covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles in Illinois.

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ComEd ($268.5 million), Ameren ($59.6 million) push for extra delivery rate hikes

Elizabeth — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 18:50:51 +0000

In an already-expensive year of spiking electricity supply prices, Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois are pushing to increase another part of our power bills, delivery charges, by a total of $328 million. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) last year approved four-year rate plans for both ComEd and Ameren, but a provision in state law–which CUB opposes–allows the utilities to recover extra expenses in yearly “reconciliation” cases, if they go over-budget on capital expenditures. Consumer advocates can challenge the utilities’ proposals in these reconciliation cases before the ICC. “We will always challenge wasteful spending by the utilities,” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said. ”And, while consumer protections have improved, we support ending this reconciliation benefit for utilities. If ComEd and Ameren blow through their budgets in a given year, customers shouldn’t have to pay for it.” Here’s the latest on those reconciliation cases. ComEd (Docket 25-0383) Background: ComEd received a $500 million rate hike in 2023–much smaller than what the company wanted–and the ICC ordered them to come up with a new four-year plan to make improvements to the grid. Eventually, ComEd won an additional $606 million rate hike, spread out through 2027. In its latest reconciliation case, the utility claims it went over budget by $268.5 million in 2024, and is entitled to recover that money from their customers. CUB’s take: Consumer advocates have uncovered at least $125 million in wasteful spending in ComEd’s proposal. Below are examples of unreasonable ComEd spending that, CUB argues, customers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for: $9.3 million in spending to fix ComEd’s billing system, which still isn’t working correctly. ComEd broke it, CUB says, customers shouldn’t have to pay to fix it. $7.6 million to build out the grid in preparation for a data center project that didn’t go online until the following year–and had less than half the energy demand than what ComEd had built out its system for. (This example speaks to why Illinois needs to have more protections in place for when utilities build and spend based on claims by data center developers that later turn out to be inaccurate.) A $5.8 million incentive payment ComEd says it deserves for hitting an affordability-metric target, set by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), that aims to reduce disconnections in certain Zip Codes. CUB argues ComEd doesn’t deserve the money since the utility’s error-prone billing system prevented it from disconnecting customers for nonpayment for much of 2024. ComEd shouldn’t get to benefit from its failures. A $3.5 million incentive payment ComEd argues it deserves for hitting a CEJA performance-metric target for customer service. CUB argues there’s no justification for ComEd to get the money since, amid the billing-system problems, the utility lost the data necessary to prove its claimed improvement. $2.5 million in underexplained spending over their budget on operations and maintenance costs. $1.5 million to help resolve legal claims for injuries and property damage about which ComEd refused to provide specific information. Ameren (Docket 25-0382) Background: The ICC rejected Ameren’s four-year rate plan in 2023, awarding a fraction ($56 million) of what the utility wanted and ordering them to […]

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Regulatory judges recommend reducing Nicor rate hike by $100 million, consumer advocates urge regulators to cut further

Elizabeth — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:08:29 +0000

A recommendation pending before state regulators would shave a record-setting rate hike proposal now looming over 2.3 million Nicor Gas customers by more than $100 million, or about one-third, but consumer advocates say there is more fat to trim from the prosperous utility’s bid for a bloated increase in heating bills. On Monday, administrative law judges for the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) published an opinion prescribing a $109.8 million reduction in Nicor’s proposed $314.2 million rate hike (Docket No. 25-0055), which the ICC is expected to rule on in late November. While the judge’s opinion, known as a Proposed Order, advises the Commission to cut the whopping increase by about a third, it still would leave consumers saddled with an increase of about $204.4 million at the same time they’re struggling to keep up with spiraling energy prices and rising costs across the board. In fact, under the Proposed Order, Nicor would be entitled to collect its fifth rate hike in eight years, just as consumers are still reeling from a summer when electricity prices skyrocketed. It would also inject another financial windfall into the bulging coffers of Nicor’s corporate parent, Southern Company, which has amassed more than $25 billion in profits since 2017, when the utility’s rate-hike spree started. Consumer advocates, including the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), Illinois PIRG, and the Illinois Attorney General’s office, have urged the ICC to adopt cuts that would slash Nicor’s proposed increase about in half, at least. CUB characterized the Proposed Order as a sizable step in the right direction, but urged the ICC to go far beyond the recommendation and make tens of millions of dollars in additional cuts to Nicor’s proposed increase. “This Proposed Order is a promising step toward holding Nicor accountable, but we hope regulators will see that there’s plenty more room to do justice for consumers by eliminating wasteful spending and a bloated profit rate for shareholders,” said CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz. “Now more than ever, consumers are counting on state regulators to alleviate the burden of relentlessly escalating utility costs, because no one should have to choose between keeping the heat on in the winter and putting food on the table.” Among the largesse that consumer advocates are seeking to eliminate from the rate hike, chief examples include: Excessive profit rate for shareholders. Nicor is pushing to increase its “Return on Equity” (ROE)—or profit rate for shareholders—from about 9.51 percent to 10.35 percent. That would needlessly cost customers $47.4 million a year, CUB argues. To make matters worse, Nicor’s proposal to spread that wealth across more shareholders, increasing its “equity ratio,” would cost another $28.6 million a year. That comes out to a total of $76 million. Lavish executive bonuses. Nicor wants to force customers to pay for bonuses the company gives to executives for reaching financial goals that help enrich shareholders but have absolutely no benefit to customers. This would improperly raise costs for customers by $18.1 million a year, CUB argues. High customer charge. Nicor wants to burden customers with a higher fixed customer charge, raising it from $19.48 to $23.41 a month. That […]

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ICC forums in Springfield, East St. Louis give Ameren Illinois customers chance to protest utility’s push for fourth gas rate hike in just 7 years

Elizabeth — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 21:04:21 +0000

Illinois Commerce Commission forums in Springfield and East St. Louis give Ameren customers an opportunity to speak out against their utility’s $131.1 million gas rate-hike request–what would be the fourth rate hike the company has received in less than a decade. The ICC’s forums were requested by Illinois PIRG. One was held in Springfield Wednesday night, Aug. 27, and another was scheduled for East St. Louis Thursday night, Aug. 28. Consumer watchdogs, including PIRG and the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), have warned that Ameren’s rate-hike plan would raid consumers for nearly triple the amount the utility can possibly justify under state law. Representatives of CUB and PIRG will be available for interviews in advance and on-site. Those who couldn’t make the forums can voice opposition to the rate hike by signing a petition or filing a public comment with the ICC at CUBActionCenter.com. More than 2,600 petition signatures and public comments have been collected to date. Ameren filed for its gas rate hike in January, sparking an 11-month rate case before the ICC (Docket #25-0084). The proposal would raise average monthly residential customer bills by roughly 12 to 13 percent, or $8 to $10 per month, according to Ameren’s original public notice. Ameren customers have expressed frustration with the company’s escalating bills. This would be Ameren’s fourth rate hike since 2018. In that time, the gas utility has raised delivery rates by $202 million, or 50 percent. In that same time period (2018-2024), the Illinois utility’s parent company, Ameren, has increased profits by 45 percent for a total of $6.9 billion, and Ameren Illinois’ gas segment has seen its profits more than double. “This gas rate hike will be a hardship for Ameren customers,” said Scott Allen, CUB’s energy policy specialist. “Ameren has been treating its customers like an ATM, hitting them with $200 million in rate hikes in less than a decade–and now the utility wants a fourth increase and the highest shareholder profit rate of any major gas utility in Illinois. When is enough, enough? We urge the ICC to slash Ameren’s rate-hike request.” “Despite Illinois’ move towards clean energy, Ameren is proposing to continue spending heavily on fossil fuel infrastructure. This business as usual approach has already led to significant rate increases for Ameren customers,” said Illinois PIRG Director Abe Scarr. “It’s important that regulators and Ameren hear directly from consumers, whose high utility bills are just one among many rising cost pressures.” The Illinois Attorney General’s Office and consumer advocates such as CUB and PIRG have argued that Ameren’s rate-hike request is unjust and unreasonable. CUB and the Illinois Attorney General alone have uncovered about $82 million in overcharges. Taking all consumer advocates’ recommendations into account, the rate hike should be cut by about two-thirds, at least. Examples of problems advocates have identified: Excessive profit rate for shareholders. Ameren proposed an increase in its “return on equity” (ROE)—or profit rate for shareholders—from about 9.44 percent to 10.7 percent. That would give the company the highest ROE among major gas utilities in Illinois, and it would needlessly cost customers $29.9 million a year. To make matters worse, Ameren’s proposal to spread […]

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Update on Ameren’s gas rate-hike request

Elizabeth — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 18:26:25 +0000

Since we first reported on Ameren Illinois’ gas rate-hike request in January, the utility has adjusted its rate hike. Here’s a quick review: Ameren’s Rate-hike Request: The company has adjusted the amount from about $134.4 million to $131.1 million. It’s not unusual for a rate-hike total to be adjusted as an 11-month case proceeds before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Impact on Customers: Ameren said originally its increase would raise average monthly residential customer bills by roughly 12 to 13 percent, or $8 to $10 per month. The numbers are estimated to be similar to that, despite the decrease in the overall total of the hike. What Consumer Advocates says: CUB has uncovered about $61 million in overcharges in Ameren’s proposed rate hike, which is about 46 percent of the total request. When you include recommendations from consumer advocates such as the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Illinois PIRG and Environmental Defense Fund, the reductions total about $82 million. That means the testimony of consumer advocates shows that Ameren’s rate-hike request is nearly triple what the company can possibly justify. CUB focused on the following issues: Return on Equity. Ameren proposed an increase in its “return on equity” (ROE)—or profit rate for shareholders—from about 9.44 percent to 10.7 percent. That would give the company the highest ROE among major gas utilities in Illinois. CUB argues for a more reasonable 9.45 percent ROE, which would reduce the rate hike by $29.9 million. Capital Structure. CUB’s expert testimony also found problems with “capital structure”—basically how it finances infrastructure projects. Ameren wants to raise its “common equity ratio”—how much of the utility’s financing comes from issuing stocks—to 52 percent. CUB’s testimony recommends keeping it at its current level, 50 percent, which would reduce the rate hike by another $5.8 million. Rate-case Expense. Under Illinois law, utilities are allowed to recover expenses for outside lawyers and expert witnesses in rate cases. It is already offensive that Ameren customers have to pay for pro-utility lawyers and consultants who argue for increasing their bills, but adding insult to injury, CUB’s testimony revealed that Ameren’s accounting treatment of these costs would likely result in customers being double- or triple-charged for these fees—or worse—between now and Ameren’s next gas rate case. Correcting this practice would reduce the rate hike by another $1.8 million. (Note: In Springfield, CUB is working for a reform that would bar utilities from charging customers for this and other expenses that should instead be covered by shareholders.) The remainder of CUB’s financial adjustments related to the utility’s questionable forecasts for gas sales, inflation and cash working capital, which is the amount of money Ameren has available to fund day-to-day operations. Among the findings of other advocates: EDF and PIRG argued for the ICC to reduce planned transmission spending by up to $84 million, because the utility failed to adequately justify its spending. EDF, PIRG and the Illinois Attorney General also found that Ameren frequently replaces transmission pipes, which drives up its profits and customer bills, when other, less expensive compliance measures are viable. EDF and PIRG recommended that the ICC reject a proposal to subsidize […]

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This Week: CUB Urges Ameren Customers to Attend ICC Forums in Springfield, East St. Louis to Protest Utility’s Push for 4th Gas Rate Hike in Recent Years

Elizabeth — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:45:21 +0000

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is urging Ameren Illinois gas customers to attend Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) public forums in Springfield on Wednesday and East St. Louis on Thursday to protest their utility’s proposal for a fourth excessive gas rate hike in less than a decade. Consumer advocates argue that Ameren’s current $131.1 million rate-hike plan is nearly triple what the utility could possibly justify under the law. In recent years, customers across Ameren’s territory have complained to CUB about multiple rate hikes and escalating gas bills. Ameren Illinois has imposed three increases on customers since 2018, raising delivery rates by $202 million, or 50 percent. In that same time period (2018-2024), the utility’s parent company, Ameren, has increased profits by 45 percent for a total of $6.9 billion, and Ameren Illinois’ gas segment has seen its profits more than double. These forums, organized by the ICC, give customers a chance to voice their opposition to yet another Ameren rate hike: 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 27 CMS Regional Complex 4800 Wabash Avenue Springfield, IL 62711 Sign up to attend 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, August 28 New Life Community Church 1919 State Street East St. Louis, IL 62205 Sign up to attend NOTE: Consumer advocates will be available for interviews in advance and on-site. Consumer advocates such as the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, CUB and Illinois PIRG have filed testimony uncovering more than $80 million in overcharges in Ameren’s proposal, arguing that the utility’s proposal is nearly triple what it can justify. The ICC is expected to rule on Ameren’s rate-hike proposal by December.

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Enough Is Enough: Nicor Gas Customers to Use State Forum Thursday Night to Speak Out Against Utility’s Push for Record Rate Hike

Elizabeth — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 16:56:36 +0000

Many Nicor Gas customers may not know that their utility is trying to hit them with the largest gas rate hike in Illinois history, but a state public forum Thursday night in Elgin is an opportunity to speak out against the company’s fifth rate-hike request in recent years. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is holding a public forum–requested by AARP Illinois–on Nicor Gas’ request for an unprecedented $316.5 million rate increase – 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7 (TONIGHT) at Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin, IL 60120. Utility watchdogs have warned the proposal would raid consumers for at least double the amount Nicor can request within the boundaries of state law. Please note: The Citizens Utility Board (CUB), Illinois PIRG and AARP Illinois will be available for interviews in advance and on-site in both English and Spanish. At least part of the forum will be live-streamed from the Facebook pages of AARP (facebook.com/AARPIllinois), PIRG (facebook.com/ILPIRG) and CUB (facebook.com/cubillinois). Those who can’t make the forum can join hundreds of people who have signed a CUB petition or filed a public comment with the ICC against Nicor’s rate-hike request. Nicor embarked on its quest to obtain a record-high rate hike for an Illinois gas utility in January of this year, and the tally has only expanded since then, from about $309 million to $316.5 million (Docket No. 25-0055). Nicor customers have expressed frustration at the company’s serial rate hikes: This would be Nicor’s fifth since 2017. In that same time period—from 2017 to 2024—the utility has raised delivery rates by 114 percent, totaling $747 million, and its parent, Southern Co., has made $25.2 billion in profits. “Northern Illinoisans have told us that they oppose the proposed increase from Nicor,” said Al Hollenbeck, Volunteer State President of AARP Illinois. “This hike, on top of several other utility hikes in recent years, disproportionately affects older adults on fixed incomes, who are already struggling to keep up with the ever-growing cost of living in the state. They simply cannot afford higher gas bills and AARP is committed to advocating on their behalf against this proposed rate hike.” “Nicor customers are tired of their gas utility treating them like an ATM,” said Mardi Klevs, a Nicor customer and volunteer board member for CUB. “This record rate hike is full of waste and excess, including an exorbitant profit rate for Nicor shareholders as well as extravagant executive bonuses. We need customers to tell state regulators loud and clear: Enough is enough.” The Illinois Attorney General’s Office and consumer advocates such as the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and Illinois PIRG have argued that Nicor’s rate-hike request is unjust and unreasonable. Together, advocates have uncovered more than $150 million in overcharges, and say Nicor’s request is at least double what the utility can possibly justify under the law. A few problems advocates have identified: Excessive profit rate for shareholders. Nicor is pushing to increase its “Return on Equity” (ROE)—or profit rate for shareholders—from about 9.51 percent to 10.35 percent. That would needlessly cost customers $47.4 million a year, CUB argues. To make matters worse, Nicor’s proposal […]

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