{"id":44156,"date":"2025-11-19T14:34:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/?p=44156"},"modified":"2025-11-19T20:04:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T02:04:44","slug":"cub-reacts-to-icc-making-significant-cut-to-nicor-gas-rate-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2025\/11\/19\/cub-reacts-to-icc-making-significant-cut-to-nicor-gas-rate-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"CUB Reacts To ICC Making Significant Cut To Nicor Gas Rate Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CUB <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251118_NicorRateHikeFinalOrder.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>issued the following statement<\/strong><\/a> responding to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) ruling on Nicor Gas&#8217; rate-hike request:<\/p>\n<p>Any heating bill increase is too much for Nicor\u2019s 2.3 million customers, who have been hit with four previous rate hikes in the last eight years \u2013 a period when profits for the utility\u2019s parent company have totaled an astronomical $25 billion. It\u2019s beyond troubling that a corporation getting so fat on its own prosperity continues to demand ever greater financial sacrifices from its customers.<\/p>\n<p>Against this backdrop, we\u2019re thankful that state regulators responded by derailing Nicor\u2019s bid to raid consumers for costs that were blatantly inflated and unwarranted.\u00a0 In shrinking Nicor\u2019s requested $314 million increase by about half, the ICC\u2019s ruling today exceeds the reduction recommended by two administrative law judges last month by an ample margin and reaffirms the Commission\u2019s commitment to holding utilities accountable for every expense they attempt to charge consumers.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019 gas utilities so no one is forced to choose between paying for fuel to heat or food to eat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>On Nov. 19, 2025, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issued a final order in Nicor Gas\u2019 request for a state-record $314.3 million rate hike (<strong><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.icc.illinois.gov\/docket\/P2025-0055\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Docket #25-0055<\/a><\/u><\/strong>). The order reduced Nicor\u2019s rate hike by 47 percent, or $146.5 million, making the final increase $167.8 million.<\/li>\n<li>Among the proposals in Nicor\u2019s rate-hike request, CUB challenged the utility\u2019s attempt to capture an outrageous 10.35 percent Return on Equity (ROE), or profit rate for shareholders. The ICC\u2019s final order reduced the ROE to 9.6 percent.<\/li>\n<li>This is Nicor\u2019s 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\u2019s increase adds to the total rate hikes since 2017.<\/li>\n<li>This increase impacts delivery rates, which take up about a third to a half of gas bills. It\u2019s what Nicor charges customers to cover the costs of delivering gas to homes\u2014plus a profit. The original rate hike was expected to hit customers with an average bill increase of about <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Warning:<\/strong> Even customers who pay an alternative gas supplier still pay Nicor\u2019s 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.<\/li>\n<li>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).<\/li>\n<li>Nicor is Illinois\u2019 largest gas utility, serving 2.3 million residential, public sector and business customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CUB issued the following statement responding to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) ruling on Nicor Gas&#8217; rate-hike request: Any heating bill increase is too much for Nicor\u2019s 2.3 million customers, who have been hit with four previous rate hikes in the last eight years \u2013 a period when profits for the utility\u2019s parent company have totaled an astronomical $25 billion. It\u2019s 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\u2019re thankful that state regulators responded by derailing Nicor\u2019s bid to raid consumers for costs that were blatantly inflated and unwarranted.\u00a0 In shrinking Nicor\u2019s requested $314 million increase by about half, the ICC\u2019s ruling today exceeds the reduction recommended by two administrative law judges last month by an ample margin and reaffirms the Commission\u2019s 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\u2019 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\u2019 request for a state-record $314.3 million rate hike (Docket #25-0055). The order reduced Nicor\u2019s rate hike by 47 percent, or $146.5 million, making the final increase $167.8 million. Among the proposals in Nicor\u2019s rate-hike request, CUB challenged the utility\u2019s attempt to capture an outrageous 10.35 percent Return on Equity (ROE), or profit rate for shareholders. The ICC\u2019s final order reduced the ROE to 9.6 percent. This is Nicor\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s what Nicor charges customers to cover the costs of delivering gas to homes\u2014plus 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.\u00a0 Warning: Even customers who pay an alternative gas supplier still pay Nicor\u2019s 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\u2019 largest gas utility, serving 2.3 million residential, public sector and business customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"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":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_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":[380,1751,296],"tags":[877,488],"class_list":["post-44156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consumer-victories","category-illinois-commerce-commission","category-nicor-gas","tag-cub-legal-team","tag-nicor-gas"],"cp_meta_data":{"_facebook_share_type":["default"],"_twitter_share_type":["default"],"_linkedin_share_type":["default"],"_pinterest_share_type":["default"],"_instagram_share_type":["default"],"_medium_share_type":["default"],"_threads_share_type":["default"],"_google_business_share_type":["default"],"_wpsp_custom_templates":["a:7:{s:8:\"facebook\";a:3:{s:8:\"template\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"profiles\";a:0:{}s:9:\"is_global\";b:0;}s:7:\"twitter\";a:3:{s:8:\"template\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"profiles\";a:0:{}s:9:\"is_global\";b:0;}s:8:\"linkedin\";a:3:{s:8:\"template\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"profiles\";a:0:{}s:9:\"is_global\";b:0;}s:9:\"pinterest\";a:3:{s:8:\"template\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"profiles\";a:0:{}s:9:\"is_global\";b:0;}s:9:\"instagram\";a:3:{s:8:\"template\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"profiles\";a:0:{}s:9:\"is_global\";b:0;}s:6:\"medium\";a:3:{s:8:\"template\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"profiles\";a:0:{}s:9:\"is_global\";b:0;}s:7:\"threads\";a:3:{s:8:\"template\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"profiles\";a:0:{}s:9:\"is_global\";b:0;}}"],"classic-editor-remember":["classic-editor"],"_edit_lock":["1763604309:5"],"_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_select_revolution_from_list":["3"],"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"],"_selected_social_profile":["a:0:{}"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["1751"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_wpb_post_custom_layout":["default"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44156","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\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44156"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44169,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44156\/revisions\/44169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}