Illinois AG opposes Peoples Gas rate hike request
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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is opposing a proposed Peoples Gas rate hike alongside consumer advocates.
Why it matters: The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and Illinois PIRG say that Illinois customers could pay about $11 more a month by the end of the year if regulators approve the rate hike.
- Peoples Gas says it needs the hike to stay on track to replace aging gas lines.
The latest: Raoul's office this week requested that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) not only deny Peoples Gas' $205 million proposed rate hike request, but also reduce current customer rates by more than $4 million.
The intrigue: The request comes on the heels of the AG's office securing a settlement with Peoples Gas that will give customers bill credits over the next three years.
- Customers will see an estimated annual bill credit of about $50 this year and $40 in 2027 and 2028 if the ICC approves that settlement.
Flashback: If it feels like you've been hearing about Peoples Gas' pipe replacement program for a long time, you have.
- The company began removing aging gas lines in the 1980s, but gas explosions in other cities prompted the federal government to urge utilities to accelerate modernization.
- Peoples Gas began accelerating the replacement of more than 1,000 miles of aging pipes in 2011 and now aims to complete the work by 2035.
By the numbers: More than 170,000 Chicago households are already more than a month behind on their bills, according to CUB's Eric DeBellis.
Between the lines: Peoples Gas is prioritizing replacement of the aging lines, the most expensive option, Illinois PIRG's Abe Scarr told reporters this week, rather than a repair-and-rehabilitation approach like pipe relining.
- Customers could pay about $580 a year by 2035 if Peoples Gas sticks with full replacement, compared with about $500 annually with relining.
The other side: "Peoples Gas will be making approximately $360 million in safety investments in 2027 to retire aging pipes and better serve its customers," a company representative told the ICC in its January request for a rate hike.
- "The Companies respectfully request increases to their current rates at both North Shore Gas and Peoples Gas to cover this and other critically important work to continue to provide customers with safe, reliable, and affordable natural gas service."
What's next: The ICC is expected to decide the fate of the proposed rate hike in the late fall.