{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Citizens Utility Board","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org","title":"CUB News Release: 104% increase in Peoples Gas price in April exposes how utility misled customers on record rate hike | Citizens Utility Board","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"oHG56OiIHD\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2025\/04\/03\/cub-104-increase-in-peoples-gas-price-in-april-exposes-how-utility-misled-customers-on-record-rate-hike\/\">CUB News Release: 104% increase in Peoples Gas price in April exposes how utility misled customers on record rate hike<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2025\/04\/03\/cub-104-increase-in-peoples-gas-price-in-april-exposes-how-utility-misled-customers-on-record-rate-hike\/embed\/#?secret=oHG56OiIHD\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;CUB News Release: 104% increase in Peoples Gas price in April exposes how utility misled customers on record rate hike&#8221; &#8212; Citizens Utility Board\" data-secret=\"oHG56OiIHD\" 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":"A spike in April\u2019s heating fuel price shows that Peoples Gas drastically understated the fallout customers would experience from a record-breaking rate hike the company imposed last year, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) warned Thursday.\u00a0 (Read CUB&#8217;s news release here, and here&#8217;s the Chicago Tribune&#8217;s coverage of the issue.) Peoples Gas instituted a $300 million rate hike in December 2023, claiming that the cost increase \u2013 the largest for a gas utility in Illinois history \u2013 would be neutralized by declining gas prices. As a result, the company said the massive rate hike was \u201cnot expected to increase the typical customer\u2019s bill.\u201d\u00a0That forecast proved deceptive in the wake of disclosures this week that the utility\u2019s gas supply price in April has more than doubled over what it was a year ago. Peoples Gas\u2019 price of 52.79 cents per therm in April is about 30 percent higher than March\u2019s price, and about 104 percent higher than April 2024. It\u2019s the second-highest price Peoples Gas has charged during the month of April in the last decade. The gloomy news comes as Chicagoans are already suffering what consumer advocates have decried as a heating-affordability crisis, as the mounting cost of Peoples Gas service has left its customers reeling in debt. In February, nearly 150,000 Chicago households were more than 30-days delinquent on their Peoples Gas accounts, and customers were shackled to more than $74.5 million in cumulative debt to the company, according to data the utility has submitted to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). \u201cPeoples Gas misled its customers,\u201d CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said. \u201cIt was absurd for the utility to claim that its rate hike wouldn\u2019t lead to higher bills. The supply price spike took effect on April Fools\u2019 Day, but this is no joke for so many Chicago families who are struggling to afford their heating bills. We hope it\u2019s a warm spring.\u201d In a January 2023 news release announcing that it had filed for an increase in gas delivery charges, Peoples assured customers: \u201cThe filing is not expected to increase the typical customer\u2019s bill.\u201d The utility explained that gas supply prices were forecast to decline over the next two years, and that decline would balance out the increase they sought on the delivery side of bills. At the time, consumer advocates scoffed at Peoples Gas\u2019 claim. CUB and others argued that while gas prices do drop temporarily at times, they also regularly spike in the volatile commodity market. It was only a matter of time before an increase in the supply price would combine with the delivery rate hike to increase overall bills, advocates said. In November of 2023, Peoples Gas won a $303 million rate hike and imposed it on customers the following month. That increase\u2013the largest gas hike in Illinois history\u2013helped capture record profits for the utility in 2024, marking seven out of eight years Peoples has set an earnings record. And now supply prices are moving up also. After a two-year stint of relative price stability, Peoples Gas\u2019 supply rate has been steadily increasing, from 31.73 cents per therm in December 2024 to 52.79 cents per [&hellip;]","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/CUB_IL_LogoBadgeRGBAdminLogo.png","thumbnail_width":254,"thumbnail_height":254}