{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Citizens Utility Board","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org","title":"As Concern Grows Over Soaring Chicago Gas Bills, Alderman and Consumer Advocates Urge End to Reckless Peoples Gas Spending | Citizens Utility Board","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"m7HrZ62Qtw\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/as-concern-grows-over-soaring-chicago-gas-bills-alderman-consumer-advocates-urge-end-to-reckless-peoples-gas-spending\/\">As Concern Grows Over Soaring Chicago Gas Bills, Alderman and Consumer Advocates Urge End to Reckless Peoples Gas Spending<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/as-concern-grows-over-soaring-chicago-gas-bills-alderman-consumer-advocates-urge-end-to-reckless-peoples-gas-spending\/embed\/#?secret=m7HrZ62Qtw\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;As Concern Grows Over Soaring Chicago Gas Bills, Alderman and Consumer Advocates Urge End to Reckless Peoples Gas Spending&#8221; &#8212; Citizens Utility Board\" data-secret=\"m7HrZ62Qtw\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","description":"[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;5\/6&#8243;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;As Concern Grows Over Soaring Chicago Gas Bills, Alderman and Consumer Advocates Urge End to Reckless Peoples Gas Spending&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;5\/6&#8243;][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;5\/6&#8243;][vc_column_text]FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2019 CONTACT: Vikki Ortiz, AARP Illinois, 312-956-4117; Jim Chilsen, CUB, 312-513-1784;\u00a0Abe Scarr, Illinois PIRG, 312-983-2789 A City Council hearing on soaring home-heating costs shows the growing concern in Chicago that reckless spending by Peoples Gas will spark a citywide crisis for residents trying to afford their natural gas bills, consumer advocates and a key alderman said Wednesday. Before Wednesday\u2019s hearing, Ald. George Cardenas and representatives from AARP Illinois, Illinois PIRG and the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) urged the city council members to pass SR2018-837, a resolution that calls for more transparency and oversight from Peoples Gas. The resolution would also encourage the Governor and state legislators to pass reform legislation to rein in the out-of-control spending by Peoples Gas on its mismanaged and ineffective pipeline-replacement program, the \u201cSystem Modernization Plan\u201d (SMP). Consumer advocates say the SMP has an overly aggressive spending pace, is over budget, and has not been meeting its goals. And they warn the program could double gas bills in years to come, hitting seniors and people on a fixed income especially hard. Cardenas, the chair of the Health &amp; Environmental Protection committee, has pushed for months to hold a hearing on the problem, after published reports showed that Peoples Gas customers on average paid 80 percent more than suburban Nicor Gas customers to heat their homes in the winter of 2017-2018. \u201cAs Chairman, it is my responsibility to bring greater transparency and oversight to a program that has been plagued by scandals and misinformation,\u201d Ald. Cardenas said. \u201cPeoples Gas\u2019 rate of pipe replacement simply does not correspond to their dramatic increase in capital spending. Chicagoan&#8217;s deserve answers, and I look forward to a judicious discussion.&#8221; While the SMP allows Peoples Gas to raise bills and boost earnings\u2014the utility reportedly made a record $132 million in 2018\u2014it\u2019s been a disaster for customers who pay for the program through their gas bills. Since a 2015 audit ordered by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) uncovered rampant mismanagement, the SMP\u2019s projected costs have skyrocketed from $4.5 billion to about $11 billion. The audit found that Peoples Gas could not adequately explain why leak rates failed to decline despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on pipe replacement. A 2017 analysis by Crain\u2019s Chicago Business found that Peoples\u2019 budgeted per-mile cost for pipe replacement was double the inflation-adjusted amount it spent during the 1990s. And more recently, in a televised interview, Peoples Gas CEO Charles Matthews admitted he doesn\u2019t know what the final price tag will be. Meanwhile, gas bills keep rising. Over the last decade, the ICC has granted Peoples Gas more than $250 million in delivery rate hikes that help pay for SMP. Additionally, the Illinois General Assembly in 2013 passed a law that allows Peoples Gas to bypass the regulatory process and impose an extra surcharge on customers to more quickly recover certain pipe-replacement costs. Chicagoans feel the burden. Alarmingly, Peoples has said that about 92,000 customers\u201415 percent\u2014were [&hellip;]","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/CUB_IL_LogoBadgeRGBAdminLogo.png","thumbnail_width":254,"thumbnail_height":254}