1.0Citizens Utility Boardhttps://www.citizensutilityboard.orgrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="4olumq8Rkm"><a href="https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2023/03/28/37020/">‘I am not the gas utility’s ATM!’ CUB, consumer advocates rally outside Peoples Gas HQ to protest record rate hike</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2023/03/28/37020/embed/#?secret=4olumq8Rkm" width="600" height="338" title="“‘I am not the gas utility’s ATM!’ CUB, consumer advocates rally outside Peoples Gas HQ to protest record rate hike” — Citizens Utility Board" data-secret="4olumq8Rkm" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !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); /* ]]> */ </script> As Chicago struggles with a heating-affordability crisis and Peoples Gas rakes in five years of record profits, residents rallied outside the utility’s headquarters to slam the company’s record $402 million rate hike and urge state regulators and policymakers to hold the utility accountable. Waving signs like “I am not the gas utility’s ATM,” Chicagoans on Monday, March 27, called on the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), the state regulatory body for utilities, to reject the $402 million rate hike–what would be a record increase for heating bills–that Peoples Gas filed in January. Rally speakers also called for state leaders to launch long-term reforms to help customers across the state transition from gas, a dirty, expensive fossil fuel, to cheaper, cleaner ways to heat homes. Watch the livestream of the rally, and CUB’s remarks. Sign CUB’s petition against the Peoples Gas rate hike. See/hear coverage of the rally on CBS 2 Chicago, Fox Chicago, WTTW (at 7:55) and WBBM radio. “Peoples Gas has been on a decade-long spending spree, raking in record profits and plunging its customers into a heating-affordability crisis,” said Sarah Moskowitz, deputy director of the consumer advocacy group Citizens Utility Board (CUB). “And now the utility wants to make a bad situation worse with a record rate hike. We call on regulators to say no to Peoples Gas.” The proposed $402 million rate hike, which the ICC will rule on in late November or early December, would increase bills by an average of $11.83 a month, or more than $140 a year. But Peoples Gas customers have been plagued by rapidly rising gas bills for years. Currently, customers pay about $50 a month in fixed charges–aside from any gas they use, thanks to the utility’s reckless spending in its mismanaged pipeline-replacement program. The high bills have taken their toll on customers. According to February numbers filed with the ICC, about one in five Peoples Gas customers are in debt with the company, by a total of about $111.6 million, or an average of about $137–far more than any other utility in the state. Neighborhoods with majority Black and Brown populations have been the hardest hit. Valerie Carroll is a Peoples Gas customer from West Englewood, where according to utility filings about 37 percent of the customers in her zip code, 60636, were more than 30 days behind on their gas bills in February, by an average of $1,108.02. In the other Englewood zip code, 60621, 48 percent of customers are more than 30 days behind. “Peoples Gas keeps raising rates but our paychecks are not going up,” said Carroll, a grandmother who cares for a disabled brother. “It’s not that people don’t want to pay, it’s just that they can’t afford it. I see so many seniors struggling to afford their gas bill, saying I’m not going to get my medicine this month. And things will only get worse if Peoples Gas gets its record rate hike.” “These soaring Peoples Gas bills have over-burdened environmental justice and low-to-moderate income customers in Chicago far too long,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of Blacks In Green and Green Power Alliance. “Monthly […]https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/230327-IL-Clean-Jobs-Coalition_RP-284-300x200.jpg