![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GasFlame-300x200.png\")
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Gas prices are lower than they were a year ago for most customers in the Chicago region, thankfully, but five utilities from across the state saw increases ranging from 9 percent to 97 percent from last May, according to CUB’s review of Illinois’ gas market.<\/p>\n
Gas utilities file supply prices\u2013called the Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA)\u2013each month with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Here\u2019s what we uncovered in our review of May prices:<\/p>\n
Below are the PGAs for May and how they compare with a year ago:<\/p>\n
Ameren Illinois\u2013 47.06 cents per therm<\/strong> (up about 16 percent from May 2023) Note:\u00a0<\/strong>Your utility is determined by where you live, so you cannot switch from one utility to another.<\/p>\n Under Illinois law, gas utilities are not allowed to profit off supply prices\u2014they pass those costs from gas producers and marketers onto customers with no markup. State regulators annually review the utilities\u2019 gas-management procedures to ensure the companies did a reasonable job with their gas purchases, given market conditions, to hold down costs for consumers as much as possible. Regulators can order refunds if they find the companies were imprudent, but that is a rare event.<\/p>\n A few tips about your gas bill:<\/p>\n More helpful resources:<\/p>\n Gas prices are lower than they were a year ago for most customers in the Chicago region, thankfully, but five utilities from across the state saw increases ranging from 9 percent to 97 percent from last May, according to CUB’s review of Illinois’ gas market. Gas utilities file supply prices\u2013called the Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA)\u2013each month with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Here\u2019s what we uncovered in our review of May prices: Compared with\u00a0last month, four major utilities are charging prices that are lower, ranging from about 1 percent (MidAmerican) to 9 percent (Liberty). Four are charging prices that are higher, ranging from about 1 percent (Ameren) to 15 percent (Consumers Gas). One gas utility, Nicor, is charging the same price it did in April: 34 cents per therm. Compared with May 2023, prices for five of the utilities this month are higher than a year ago,\u00a0starting with Mt. Carmel (9 percent increase). Illinois Gas customers are for the second consecutive month suffering the highest increase: 97 percent in May; 59 percent in April. Four utilities are charging lower prices than last year, ranging from a decrease of 13 percent (Nicor Gas) to 24 percent (Peoples Gas). Below are the PGAs for May and how they compare with a year ago: Ameren Illinois\u2013 47.06 cents per therm (up about 16 percent from May 2023) Consumers Gas\u2013 39.41 cents per therm (up about 37 percent from May 2023) Illinois Gas\u2013 42.33 cents per therm (up about 97 percent from May 2023) Liberty Utilities\u2013 58.03 cents per therm (down about 16 percent from May 2023) MidAmerican Energy\u2013 36.51 cents per therm (down about 20 percent from May 2023) Mt. Carmel\u2013 15.42 cents per therm (up about 9 percent from May 2023) Nicor Gas\u2013 34 cents per therm (down about 13 percent from May 2023) North Shore Gas\u2013 34.62 cents per therm (up about 22 percent from May 2023) Peoples Gas\u2013 27.28 cents per therm (down about 24 percent from May 2023) Note:\u00a0Your utility is determined by where you live, so you cannot switch from one utility to another. Under Illinois law, gas utilities are not allowed to profit off supply prices\u2014they pass those costs from gas producers and marketers onto customers with no markup. State regulators annually review the utilities\u2019 gas-management procedures to ensure the companies did a reasonable job with their gas purchases, given market conditions, to hold down costs for consumers as much as possible. Regulators can order refunds if they find the companies were imprudent, but that is a rare event. A few tips about your gas bill: See if you qualify for energy assistance.\u00a0The application process for the\u00a0Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is open until Aug. 15. To apply or learn more, visit\u00a0www.helpillinoisfamilies.com\u00a0or call the Help Illinois Families Assistance Line at\u00a01-833-711-0374. Keep the lines of communication open with your utility.\u00a0If you are having trouble affording your gas bills, it is vital that you contact your utility. Ask if you qualify for energy assistance programs; see if you can set up a payment plan to give you a longer time to pay off your bills; and inquire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[448],"tags":[73,1541,1059,1540,1542,1180,1543,99,1711,138],"class_list":["post-40188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gas-bills","tag-ameren","tag-consumers-gas","tag-gas-utilities","tag-illinois-gas","tag-liberty-utilities","tag-midamerican","tag-mt-carmel","tag-nicor","tag-norther-shore-gas","tag-peoples-gas"],"cp_meta_data":{"classic-editor-remember":["classic-editor"],"_edit_lock":["1714577352:25"],"_edit_last":["5"],"_wp_page_template":["default"],"borntogive_page_header_show_hide":["2"],"borntogive_pages_title_show":["1"],"borntogive_pages_Choose_slider_display":["2"],"borntogive_pages_slider_pagination":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_auto_slide":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_direction_arrows":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_effects":["fade"],"borntogive_pages_body_bg_wide":["0"],"borntogive_pages_body_bg_repeat":["repeat"],"borntogive_pages_content_bg_wide":["0"],"borntogive_pages_content_bg_repeat":["repeat"],"borntogive_pages_social_show":["1"],"borntogive_strict_no_sidebar":["0"],"borntogive_sidebar_columns_layout":["3"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_pagination":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_auto_slide":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_direction_arrows":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_effects":["fade"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":[""],"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":["off"],"_wpsp_is_facebook_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_twitter_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_linkedin_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_pinterest_share":["off"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["448"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":[""],"_wpb_post_custom_layout":["default"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40188"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40226,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40188\/revisions\/40226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nConsumers Gas\u2013 39.41 cents per therm<\/strong> (up about 37 percent from May 2023)
\nIllinois Gas\u2013 42.33 cents per therm<\/strong> (up about 97 percent from May 2023)
\nLiberty Utilities\u2013 58.03 cents per therm<\/strong> (down about 16 percent from May 2023)
\nMidAmerican Energy\u2013 36.51 cents per therm<\/strong> (down about 20 percent from May 2023)
\nMt. Carmel\u2013 15.42 cents per therm<\/strong> (up about 9 percent from May 2023)
\nNicor Gas\u2013 34 cents per therm<\/strong> (down about 13 percent from May 2023)
\nNorth Shore Gas\u2013 34.62 cents per therm<\/strong> (up about 22 percent from May 2023)
\nPeoples Gas\u2013 27.28 cents per therm<\/strong> (down about 24 percent from May 2023)<\/p>\n\n
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