{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Citizens Utility Board","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org","title":"Peoples Gas blows the pipeline-replacement budget again | Citizens Utility Board","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"XL7c4LSFdQ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/peoples-gas-blows-the-pipeline-replacement-budget-again\/\">Peoples Gas blows the pipeline-replacement budget again<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/peoples-gas-blows-the-pipeline-replacement-budget-again\/embed\/#?secret=XL7c4LSFdQ\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Peoples Gas blows the pipeline-replacement budget again&#8221; &#8212; Citizens Utility Board\" data-secret=\"XL7c4LSFdQ\" 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][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Peoples Gas blows the pipeline-replacement budget again&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Steve Daniels, Crain&#8217;s Chicago Business. February 27, 2019[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Another year of pronounced cost overruns for Peoples Gas\u2019 massive pipe-replacement project is fueling a renewed effort in Springfield to bring the utility to heel on spending. The natural gas utility for the city of Chicago set out in 2018 to replace more than 75 miles of old gas mains at a cumulative cost of $271 million, or $3.6 million per mile. Instead, it fell short by 29 percent, retiring less than 53 miles. Peoples spent a bit less than planned\u2014$256 million\u2014but the per-mile cost of $4.8 million was far higher than budgeted, according to a recent report submitted to the Illinois Commerce Commission. It was the\u00a0second straight year\u00a0that Peoples fell well short of its planned benchmarks with per-mile costs that far exceeded the budget. Two Chicago House members, Reps. Sonya Harper and Theresa Mah,\u00a0introduced a bill\u00a0this month to bar Peoples from continuing to impose a monthly surcharge, now about $8 and rising for the average residential customer, to help finance its $300 million-a-year infrastructure program. Harper represents Englewood, one of the poorest city neighborhoods, and Mah represents Chinatown and McKinley Park. Rep. Will Guzzardi, who represents parts of Logan Square and Belmont Cragin on the Northwest Side, is a co-sponsor. Last year, the average residential heating customer paid nearly $77 in such surcharges, 6 percent of the total annual cost of $1,271, according to Peoples. The surcharges are authorized for a decade under a 2013 state law that sought to speed up the pace of replacing old cast-iron gas pipes prone to leaks. In the first three full years since ownership of Peoples shifted from a Chicago company to Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group, which promised to improve management of the utility\u2019s\u00a0cost- and scandal-plagued\u00a0infrastructure program, the program\u2019s cost-efficiency has deteriorated. Peoples retired an average of 68 miles per year in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the first three full years of WEC Energy\u2019s ownership. It averaged 73 miles per year from 2011, when Peoples first conceived of the accelerated program, through 2015, when the predecessor to WEC Energy acquired Peoples\u2019 parent, Chicago-based Integrys Energy Group. And WEC-owned Peoples spent $833 million in those three years in total for an overall rate of $4.1 million per mile. Peoples under Integrys spent a total of $1.1 billion over five years for an average rate of $3 million per mile. There still are 1,801 miles of old gas mains to replace in Chicago. In seven years, Peoples has spent nearly $2 billion, all of which is or will be reflected in higher heating bills, to complete less than a quarter of the task. Much of the day-to-day costs of the program are passed along to ratepayers in the form of ever-escalating monthly surcharges on their gas bills. The higher costs appear to be leading to more bill delinquencies and write-offs of bad debt. More customers unable to pay their bills holds little financial risk for Peoples and WEC Energy. Customers of Peoples who are current on their bills eventually make the utility whole for customers who [&hellip;]","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/CUB_IL_LogoBadgeRGBAdminLogo.png","thumbnail_width":254,"thumbnail_height":254}