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The Chicago area is cleaning up, after severe storms blew through Thursday.
The Bad PlaceChicago Sun-Times - All | Advocates oppose Nicor's $220M proposed rate hike by Violet Miller
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Consumer advocates are urging the Illinois Commerce Commission to slash Nicor Gas’s proposed $220.8 million rate increase—about $72 a year for each of the utility’s 2.3 million northern‑Illinois customers—by roughly 80 % to $178 million, arguing the company’s cost estimates are overstated and driven by excessive capital spending and an inflated investor return rate. Filing alongside the state attorney general, the Citizens Utility Board and Illinois PIRG say Nicor’s recent spending spikes, including billions on pipe replacement and other projects, are unnecessary given a 26 % drop in household gas usage, and that the proposal also includes questionable items such as $5 million for legal fees and $19.1 million for executive bonuses. With nearly 200 000 customers behind on bills, the commission will decide later this year whether to approve the hike.
Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/money/2026/05/18/nicors-gas-rate-hike
Chicago Sun-Times - All | Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas settle with state for $125 million for raising prices for 'ineligible' projects by Violet Miller
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Peoples Gas and its affiliate North Shore Gas have agreed to a $125 million settlement with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul over surcharges and fees collected from 2017‑2023 that the state says were spent on ineligible projects, expired permits and unsubstantiated change orders. Pending approval by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the deal would provide affected customers with bill credits of roughly $50 in 2026 and $40 in each of the next two years, while requiring the utilities to cut $130 million in capital costs, competitively bid contracts over $25,000, document cost changes above $5,000 and improve project close‑out reporting. The settlement comes amid criticism of the companies’ over‑budget, delayed Accelerated Main Replacement Program—originally slated to replace 2,000 miles of aging gas pipes by 2030 at under $2 billion, but now exceeding $3.3 billion and pushed out to 2035—while the utilities also seek a separate $202 million rate hike that would add about $11 per month to customer bills.
#PeoplesGas #KwameRaoul #IllinoisCommission #WECEnergy #CitizensUtility #SarahMoskowitz
Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas settle with state for $125 million for raising prices for 'ineligible' projects
The settlement, which still requires approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission, would give Peoples Gas customers an estimated annual bill credit of approximately $50 in 2026, $40 in 2027 and $40 in 2028. The state argued the money generated was going toward ineligible capital work, expired…
PJD65Our family business has had all our bank accounts with #FifthThird for well over 20 years. That's about to change. Last month we had an ACH debit in our account from #PeoplesGas. We do not use any service from this company and immediately contacted the 5/3 Fraud department and reported it. We have called to follow up several times and were told they were working on it. Today we received notice the claim is denied and there is nothing further they can do to get our money back. Over $700 stolen!