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One of the highlights of 2025 was helping to pass major energy legislation, the Clean & Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act. At a news conference, CUB’s Sarah Moskowitz urged the Illinois General Assembly to pass the Act to help reduce electricity price volatility.

By Sarah Moskowitz, Executive Director, Citizens Utility Board

Here is my report for 2025–CUB’s 41st year of consumer advocacy.

I’m proud of how the CUB team served Illinois consumers in a tough year marked by a painful summer electricity price spike for ComEd and Ameren customers and rate-hike battles against Illinois’ biggest electric and gas utilities. The soaring price of electricity is why we worked so hard to help pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act on the last day of the Illinois General Assembly’s Fall Veto Session. This was a major victory–I’ll explain more in the Policy team’s update below!

The following department-by-department report is a snapshot of the work the CUB team (pictured at the bottom of this article) did in 2025. I’m honored to work alongside such a fantastic team, and I’m grateful we have such generous supporters. You help lead the charge for lower utility bills, consumer protections and cleaner energy, through your donations, by following our issues, and by signing petitions and sending messages.

Together we are working hard to make a positive difference for utility customers in Illinois. On behalf of the CUB team, a warm, heartfelt thanks for your support.

Zoe from CUB joined AARP Illinois and Illinois PIRG representatives at a news conference against Nicor’s rate hike. The advocates announced that they had gathered more than 35,000 petition signatures against the Nicor increase.

Legal Department–General Counsel Eric DeBellis
CUB’s two-person legal team (Eric and Laura) in 2025 battled utility campaigns to raise delivery charges by $771 million:
Nicor Gas (Docket 25-0055): $314.3 million
Commonwealth Edison (Docket 25-0383): $268.5 million
Ameren Illinois (gas) (Docket 25-0084): $128.8 million
Ameren (electric) (Docket 25-0382): $59.6 million

Your support at work: CUB and other consumer advocates have so far helped reduce rate hikes by more than $202 million ($146.5 million for Nicor customers and $55.8 million for Ameren customers, in the gas cases that state regulators ruled on Nov. 19). Over our 41-year history, we’ve helped save Illinois consumers more than $20 billion. Stay tuned: We will update this report after the  Illinois Commerce Commission issues rulings on the electric rate cases in December. More on these cases below.

• Ameren Illinois ($59.6 million) and ComEd ($265.8 million) are pushing for higher electric rates
• CUB’s statement on Nicor rate-case ruling.
• CUB’s statement on Ameren rate-case ruling.

Also, in February CUB applauded state regulators for issuing a ruling, after a year-long investigation, that finally attempted to rein in the over-budget and behind-schedule Peoples Gas pipe-replacement program. CUB thanked the ICC for “protecting consumers against the spiraling costs and intractable waste that have plagued Peoples Gas’ pipe-replacement program from its inception.” But our work is far from over: We expect Peoples Gas to file for another rate hike early in 2026.

In another victory for consumers, CUB’s legal team worked at the ICC to create a “time of use” option for ComEd customers. Months later, the CRGA Act codified the option, ensuring that both Ameren and ComEd offer predictable time-variant rates that enable residential customers to save money by using less energy when demand is high. TOU rates can help delay or avoid altogether the need to build more pricey power plants or replace/upgrade grid equipment.

James Birr (left), of CUB Minnesota, discussed best practices in serving utility customers, with CUB staffers, including the Consumer Advocacy team: Annie, Danielle, and Sandra.

Consumer Advocacy Department–Director Sandra Marcelin-Reme
CUB’s Consumer Advocacy Department (Annie, Danielle and Sandra) has handled 1,315 consumer inquiries, saving individual utility customers a total of $41,811 in 2025.

Your support at work: One consumer contacted CUB after spending more than 50 hours on the phone with AT&T and spoke to Consumer Rights Specialist Annie. She filed a complaint with AT&T and within a day the company was fixing the problem. “I am so happy to have this nightmare end,” wrote Ms. C.. “Your intervention meant that someone finally took ownership for solving my problem…Thank you for having an organization I could call after running into one brick wall after another.”

That’s just one example. Here are a few of the other people we helped:

Cynthia of Chicago saved $14,425 off their Peoples Gas bills.
Rodney of Chicago saved $3,857 off their Peoples Gas bills.
David of Chicago saved $2,878 off their Peoples Gas bills.
Annie of Bolingbrook saved $2,584 off their Illinois American Water bills.
Carol of Oak Lawn saved $1,626 off their ComEd bills.
Christy of Wheeling saved $1,122 off their ComEd bills.
Earl of Waukegan saved $1,089.44 off their IDT (alternative supplier) bills.
Nancy of Lake Forest saved $1,017 off their ComEd bills.
Richard of Homer Glen saved $479 off their Nicor Gas bills.
M. A. of Peoria saved $379 off their Illinois American Water bills.
Betty of Alton saved $341 off their Illinois American Water bills.
Olga of Cicero saved $79 off their T-Mobile bills.
James of Oak Forest saved $69 off their AT&T bills.

Matt speaks to a consumer at an event at a church in East Saint Louis

Outreach Department–Director Ivonne Rychwa
The Outreach Department (Grace, Ivonne, Karen, Matt, Sofia and Zoe) has staffed 224 free events in 2025, giving more than 5,900 consumers money-saving tips on energy efficiency, solar power, reducing TV costs, avoiding robocall scams and how to spot electric and gas rip-offs on utility bills. The team traveled all over Illinois–at public libraries, churches and community centers in places like Chicago,  Rockford,  Peoria, East St. Louis, Round Lake, Lemont and Springfield– to give consumers tips about lowering their bills. One person who requested a presentation about home energy savings clean heat, heard so many positive comments about the event that she sent the Outreach team this sweet note: “Thank you, Sofia, for facilitating a presenter and thank you, Matt, for giving such an excellent presentation and keeping things lively with your deep breadth of knowledge.  I really appreciate all the work you do for the Illinois residents.”

Your support at work: CUB’s Outreach team once again helped promote a solar group-buy program in the Chicago region to help participants secure discounts on installing panels on their home. Across the state in 2025, the Outreach team saved consumers an estimated $2,640 in 203 one-on-one utility bill consultations. One of the biggest problems they find on utility bills: alternative supplier rip-offs. For example, this year the Outreach and Consumer Advocacy teams worked together to help one person who was on such a bad deal that they eventually received a $1,000 refund. Beware: Illinois consumers have lost more than $2 billion to alternative electric suppliers over the last decade.

Members of CUB’s Outreach–Scott, Marina and Zoe–helped push for legislation to improve energy efficiency and lower utility bills in Springfield.

Policy Team–Director of Governmental Affairs Bryan McDaniel and Energy Policy Specialist Scott Allen
CUB was back at the State Capitol in 2025, fighting for pro-consumer legislation in Springfield, and we secured a major victory for consumers by helping to pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act.  At a time when electricity prices are skyrocketing, this urgently needed reform legislation will expand energy efficiency and add more battery storage to the grid to help protect Illinoisans from electricity price spikes in years to come.

Meanwhile, CUB continues pushing for more pro-consumer legislation:

The Water Affordability Act: Would end the Qualifying Infrastructure Plant (QIP) surcharge (which allows water utilities to raise rates more quickly), and it would require shareholders to pay the majority of the price tag when a utility purchases a water or sewer system. Under current law, Aqua and Illinois American can charge customers for 100 percent of those costs.

Utility Transparency Act: Would prevent utilities from charging customers for certain ridiculous expenses, including goodwill advertising and expenses for outside lawyers working to increase our rates. (That’s right,  customers help cover legal expenses devoted to raising our rates!)

Electric and Gas Customer Protection Act: Would help rein in alternative suppliers by requiring a customer signature if the supplier wants to increase its rate at the time of an auto renewal.

Electric Utility Accountability: Would increase the transparency of most committee votes within Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs)–the power grid operators that have a major impact on how clean and affordable our electricity is.

Your support at work: On the night the CRGA Act passed the General Assembly, CUB was already thinking of what’s next. “Passage of the CRGA Act is a major step forward, but there’s more work to do,” CUB said in a statement the night CRGA passed. “Having spoken to so many Illinois consumers worried sick about their soaring electric bills, CUB feels an urgency to immediately begin the hard work of implementing the CRGA Act alongside state regulators and advocates. And we are committed to passing additional reforms in future legislative sessions to make sure electric customers aren’t being burdened by unfair data center costs.” We’ll keep working for Illinois consumers!

Sarah Moskowitz and Clara Summers at the Governors’ Technical Conference on PJM in Philadelphia.

Consumers for a Better Grid Campaign–Manager Clara Summers
As manager of the Consumers for A Better Grid campaign, Clara worked all year to advocate for Illinois consumers at PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power grid operator. Many people have never heard of PJM, but it covers 67 million customers in northern Illinois and all or parts of a dozen other states, and its poor policy decisions have a major impact on how affordable, reliable and clean our power is. (Electricity prices spikes in Illinois are mainly due to poor policy from PJM and MISO, the power grid operators in this region.)

Your support at work: Clara has been busy this year advocating for consumers at PJM meetings, conferences, and panels. She spoke at a media briefing to warn about the potential for data center demand growth to send residential electric bills soaring. Clara told the media: “If the costs of data center infrastructure development are socialized across all consumers, it would be like going to dinner at a restaurant with your wealthiest acquaintances, them over-ordering all of the food, and then dining and dashing. Unless something is done, everyday people will be left holding the check for some of the wealthiest companies in the world, and that’s unacceptable.”

At a January news conference at the CUB office, Outreach Director Ivonne Rychwa urged state regulators to rein in the troubled Peoples Gas pipe-replacement program. (Regulators did just that in a February ruling, putting stronger cost controls on the program.)

Communications Department–Director Jim Chilsen
The Communications team (Elizabeth, Jim and Karen) this year worked long hours to update the website and produce publications, e-newsletters, and social media posts in both Spanish and English to educate people about utility issues, including the utilities’ latest attempts to raise our bills.

• Community Networked Geothermal Guide, a publication on how networked geothermal technology has the potential to supply efficient cooling and heating to entire neighborhoods.
• Higher Education Networked Geothermal Guide, a publication on how networked geothermal could be applied to college campuses.
• Better Heat Guide: Finding Cleaner, More Efficient Ways to Heat Our Homes Across Illinois. CUB revamped this guide, to account for new federal legislation that, unfortunately, called for the elimination of energy efficiency tax credits at the end of 2025

In an exclusive to the Chicago Tribune, CUB called out Peoples Gas for claiming back in 2023 that its $300 million rate hike–the largest gas increase in Illinois history–would be offset by low gas prices. Those “low” prices shot up by 104 percent in April. “Peoples Gas misled its customers,” CUB told the Tribune. “It was absurd for the utility to claim that its rate hike wouldn’t lead to higher bills.”

Also, with electricity price spikes hitting in June, CUB held news conferences, sent out news releases and held livestreams in June and August featuring CUB experts explaining why prices were going up.

From top left to right, Annie Warnock, Consumer Rights Specialist-Bilingual; Bryan McDaniel, Director of Governmental Affairs; Clara Summers, Consumers for a Better Grid Campaign Manager; Cyrius Currie, Director of IT; Danielle Holmes, Consumer Rights Specialist; Elizabeth Brandon, Digital Communications Manager; Eric DeBellis, General Counsel; Grace Concialdi, Solar Outreach Coordinator; Ivonne Rychwa, Outreach Director; Jantay Gray, Membership Coordinator; Jim Chilsen, Communications Director; Karen Tolentino, Outreach and Communications Coordinator–CUB Español; Laura Loyd, Regulatory Counsel; Matt Harvey, Program Manager; Sandra Marcelin-Remé, Staff, Operations and Consumer Advocacy Director; Sarah Moskowitz, Executive Director; Scott Allen, Energy Policy Specialist; Sofia Erlin, Outreach Coordinator; Zoe Huspen, Carbon Free Buildings Coordinator