Consumer and environmental advocates marched through downtown Chicago on Thursday, Oct. 29, to deliver more than 10,000 public comments to utility regulators, urging them to reject Peoples Gas' proposed $144 million rate hike, according to Capitol News Illinois.

After delivering the comments, utility customers and organization leaders attended an open meeting of the Illinois Commerce Commission to speak out against the rate hike before the five-member commission, Capitol News Illinois reported.

The comments were gathered by several groups, including AARP Illinois, Illinois PIRG and the Citizens Utility Board, through door-to-door canvassing, on campus and online.

"We collected public comments through our door-to-door canvass, on campus, and online — and the response was overwhelming," Illinois PIRG Associate Levi Orgas said, according to the Citizens Utility Board. "We're proud to stand with over 10,000 Chicagoans who want the ICC to follow the evidence and end the Peoples Gas pipe-replacement program as we know it."

Advocates said they are concerned about the well-being of Chicago families this winter if the utility is granted the increase.

Background

According to the Citizens Utility Board, the comments were delivered the same morning that WEC Energy Group, the parent company of Peoples Gas, announced third-quarter profits of $389.3 million — a 43.5 percent increase.

Peoples Gas filed for a $202 million rate hike in January, its first since a record-breaking $306 million increase in 2023, the Citizens Utility Board said. In July, the utility lowered its request to $144 million, saying project costs were lower than expected.

According to WTTW News, the Illinois Commerce Commission's administrative law judges in early October recommended cutting the proposed $144 million increase by 54 percent, to $66 million. The utility says the increase is driven by a state order requiring it to replace about 1,020 miles of aging iron pipe beneath Chicago's streets by 2035.

Peoples Gas has said the work is about safety and reliability, WTTW News reported. If approved in full, the $144 million request would raise average monthly residential bills by $7 to $8.

Source: the original release