Winter 2009-2010 - Citizens Utility Board

The
CUB V ICE
Winter 2010
WHAT’SInside
CUB’s top ten stories
of 2009 Page 2
One of Illinois’ best
websites Page 4
Get the most out of
your heating-bill buck
Page 5
CUB’s Silver
Anniversary Section
Page 6-13
Long-ago poet captures
CUB Poetry Contest
Prize Page 13
Success is sweet for
CUB staffer Page 16
A Publication of the Citizens Utility Board
www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org
Outrageous!
We bankroll rate-hike hungry legal teams
A CUB review of recent rate-hike
cases found that Illinois utilities
have spent and want to slap their
customers with nearly $33 million
in legal fees, meaning the hardearned cash consumers sink into
electric and gas bills actually bankrolls corporate legal teams battling
to increase those same bills.
In asking for increases, utilities
will request that consumers pay
for at least a portion of the legal
expenses—fees for lawyers and
expert witnesses—they rack up in
11-month rate-hike cases before
the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). As consumer advocates
like CUB fight for lower rates, the
ICC will consider the utility’s proposed amounts along with other
Continued on p. 3
Litigation Director Julie Soderna researches one of about 20 utility cases CUB is tackling. A CUB review found the utilities want to slap customers with $33 million in legal fees.
CUB: Wipe out Ameren rate hike
Consumer group says company shouldn’t get ‘pay raise’
“I could do this for
another 25 years!”
Winter 2010
With evidence that Ameren’s
electric utilities are among the most
wasteful in the nation, state regulators should strike down the company’s request for a $130 million rate
hike and instead give consumers a
$6 million rate reduction, according to testimony by CUB and the
Illinois Attorney General’s office.
CUB argues that Ameren’s electric utilities could justify no more
than an $18.8 million increase, but
also recommends $24.8 million in
natural gas reductions, for a total
rate decrease of about $6 million.
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is expected to make a
decision on the case in April.
Among other things, consumer
advocates, including CUB, have
argued that Ameren sought an exorbitant return on equity, or profit
rate for shareholders. They also argue that the company should not be
able to recover certain bonuses and
other examples of “incentive compensation” through customer rates.
Bolstering these arguments is a
statistical analysis that measured
the efficiency of Ameren’s electric
utilities compared with 112 power
companies nationwide. The study
was the focus of a five-city media
campaign with AARP Illinois and
local legislators.
Continued on p. 3
Find a link to CUB’s study and help
fight Ameren’s rate hike at www.StopAmeren.com.
1
From the desk of...
It’s hard to beat a consumer group...
David Kolata
No
doubt,
our 25th anniversary year
was a tough
one. It’s hard to
celebrate when
we’re so busy,
as about $1
billion of your
money hangs
in the balance in cases before state
regulators and the courts. (And
our page 1 story is sure to make
your blood boil when you see how
much of our money utilities spend
to raise our rates.)
Still, I can’t help but be optimis-
tic when I read 2009’s list of accomplishments in the story below and
in our special Silver Anniversary
Section (see p. 6).
We’ve saved phone consumers
millions of dollars through our online tools and held 90 phone clinics
across Illinois. A new record!
We also added a new money-saving tool to our arsenal. CUB Energy
Saver,
www.CUBEnergySaver.
com, takes information about your
home and builds a plan tailored to
cut your energy costs (see p. 4). It’s
like having your very own 24-hour,
on-call energy auditor for free.
Plus, we uncovered $1.5 billion
in phone overcharges, launched a
campaign to show cell-phone customers how to save hundreds of
dollars a year, and exposed one of
the nation’s most wasteful power
companies (see p. 1)—all while
battling a gas company for a $287
million customer refund.
But the stories that make me the
most proud are the ones that fill
our membership rolls. (We write
about some of them on p. 13.)
Take Marcia Kizior, who showed
up at our Romeoville phone clinic.
CUB staffers were packing up when
she arrived, but Annette, whose
“sweet” exploits you can read about
on page 16, gave her the time of
day. Kizior learned how to cut her
phone bill about in half, and CUB
gained a new member.
“Since she bent over backwards
to help me I thought it was the
least I could do,” Kizior said. “You
are a great organization and I intend to be with you for awhile.”
Kizior, who is disabled, has faced
her share of obstacles, but, like a
true CUB member, she seems to
live the Babe Ruth quote: “It’s hard
to beat a person who never gives
up.” The same is true for CUB.
Because you never give up,
we’ll never give up.
The Top 10 Stories of 2009
CUB had good news for consumers in a bad-news year, as the nation’s economy spun its wheels and utilities battled for about $1 billion in rate hikes before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and the courts.
1. $1.5 billion in phone savings!
In February, media swarmed CUB
headquarters as we kicked off
our "Right Call" campaign with a
report showing how Illinois consumers could cut their phone bills
by a total of $1.5 billion.
Local Phone Cost-cutter
Bills analyzed: 13,160
Per bill savings: $230
plummeted to their lowest point
in years. But utility rate hikes
threatened to hijack these gains.
5.
Exiting cell hell!
In August, CUB held eight news
conferences across Illinois to
release a report showing that wireless callers were overpaying by
hundreds of dollars a year.
CUB’s website won its second
Golden Trumpet award. The Publicity Club of Chicago recognized it
for “outstanding achievement” in
communicating money-saving tips.
By mid-year, CUB was fighting $1
billion in rate-hike cases.
4. Energy prices go ker-plunk!
After CUB pushed for the creation of the Illinois Power Agency
(IPA), electricity prices fell by up
to 9 percent over the summer. By
winter, record-high gas prices
2
A memo secretly faxed to CUB
by a Nicor Gas whistleblower in
2002 led CUB to push for a $287
million refund for overcharges.
After years of legal delays, the
case heated up again in 2009 and
could be resolved this year.
7.
Exposing Ameren!
In the fall, CUB worked with the
Illinois Attorney General’s office,
state legislators, and AARP Illinois to spread the word about an
expert study that showed Ameren ranked among the nation’s
most wasteful power companies.
The study is at the core of CUB’s
campaign against Ameren’s $130
million rate-hike plan.
2. CUB wins!
3. $1 billion battles!
6. A $287 million fraud!
“CUB’s report shows there are ways to
pull yourself out of ‘cell hell’ and enjoy
significant savings on your wireless bills,”
CUB Executive Director David Kolata said.
Cellphone Saver
Bills analyzed: 37,159
Total Annual Savings: $7.2 million
8. Results in Springfield!
CUB helped pass a package of
ICC reforms and energy-efficiency
programs that could save consumers billions of dollars. Another new
law fights a phone scam called
“cramming”—getting charged for
services you didn’t order.
9. CUB breaks record!
CUB set a
record for
phone-bill
clinics, holding 90, compared to 58
in 2008. “This
is a great
service!” said
one consumer who saved
nearly $300 a
year.
Biggest phone-clinic savings
$138.50 a month
June 16, Libertyville
10. CUB celebrates 25 years!
CUB marked its 25th anniversary
the only way we knew how: by
saving you money! Our experts
slashed phone bills by millions
of dollars and protected scores of
people from thousands of dollars
of overcharges in individual utility disputes.
The CUB Voice
CUB: Wasteful Ameren ‘shouldn’t expect a pay raise’
Continued from p. 1
Consultant Steve Fenrick, an expert on utility economics, found
that in 2008, the same year Ameren
received a $162 million rate hike
and raked in profits of $622 million,
its electric utilities spent $158.5 million beyond what even an average
utility would be expected to spend.
That put Ameren in the bottom
third of the study’s 115 utilities.
“A company this wasteful
shouldn’t expect a pay raise,”
CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said. “We are not
Ameren’s personal ATM.”
Based on the premise that “effectively managing costs is an essential element of a well-performing
utility,” Fenrick’s statistical evaluation measured Ameren’s expenses in 2008 compared with what
would be expected of a typical
electric utility, according to average annual cost benchmarks from
three years before, 2005 to 2007.
The proposed rate hike covers the
“delivery” portion of bills—what
customers pay to get electricity and
gas delivered to their homes.
“We are not Ameren’s personal ATM,” CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said at a news conference in Pekin.
Utilities spend big to raise our rates
Continued from p. 1
expenses the company wants recovered through customer rates.
“It’s like forcing David to pay for
Goliath’s steroid injections,” CUB
Board President Robert Craig
Neff, of Northbrook, said. “It may
be legal, but it’s wrong. Utilities
should make their shareholders
finance their multimillion-dollar
legal maneuvers for higher rates.
I can’t think of a better reason to
fight these unfair increases.”
CUB’s legal team has turned back
more than $100 million in rate hikes
over the last year, and is currently
battling about $1 billion in higher
rates before the ICC or the courts.
That includes appeals of old rate
hikes, new rate-hike campaigns
launched by the utilities, and CUB’s
case for a $287 million gas refund.
Utilities easily spend more than
CUB’s annual budget on one ratehike case alone. CUB crunched
the numbers for the current or last
rate-hike cases of Illinois’ top utilities. It found a total of $32.7 million in legal fees the companies
have spent to raise customer rates.
Of that total, individual companies are either proposing to pin
a chunk of that on consumers or
have already been given the OK
by the ICC.
The individual amounts range
from $4.3 million, approved in Nicor Gas’ rate hike earlier this year,
to $7.2 million Ameren is proposing to pin on customers in its current push for a natural gas and
electric increase, to $11.5 million as
part of ComEd’s rate hike approved
in 2008. In these cases, whatever
amount is approved by the ICC is
spread out—or amortized—in customer rates over several years.
CUB has fought to cap the
amounts customers should pay
for legal fees, and it did help win a
small victory in the last legislative
session. The ICC is now required
$33 million—just on legal fees!
The utilities can outspend CUB’s entire budget on one
rate-hike case, but CUB has a secret weapon: you!
Help us fight $1 billion in utility cases that affect your
rates. Contribute to CUB’s rate-hike defense fund by visiting www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org and clicking “Join,”
or by calling CUB at 1-800-669-5556.
to determine in a rate hike’s final
order if the amount of legal fees is
“just and reasonable.”
“It’s outrageous what an army of
utility lawyers will try to get away
with, but we have a secret weapon:
you,” Neff said. “Thanks to Illinois
consumers, we’ve beat back rate
hikes and secured refunds to help
consumers save more than $10 billion over the last 25 years.”
Legally insane!
The chart below outlines the legal fees major Illinois utilities have
spent and want to recover from their customers in recent rate-hike
cases before state regulators.
ComEd
•
Rate hike: $273 million granted in 2008. CUB is appealing.
Legal fees: $11.5 million.
Peoples Gas/North Shore Gas
•
Rate hike: $83.6 million granted in 2010. CUB plans to appeal.
Legal fees: $7.4 million.
Ameren
•
Rate hike: $162 million* pending. CUB is fighting.
Legal fees: $7.2 million.
*Note: Ameren has since reduced its request to $130 million.
Nicor
•
Rate Hikes: $80 million approved.
Legal Fees: $4.3 million.
Illinois American Water
•
Rate hike: $58.6 million pending. CUB is fighting.
Legal fees: $2.3 million.
Source: CUB’s legal team, corporate rate-hike filings.
Winter 2010
3
www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org
CUB’s award-winning website can help you save
In 2009, CUB’s website won its second Golden Trumpet award for outstanding achievement from the Publicity Club of Chicago. Utility
consumers looking to learn, save, and get involved have a great resource right at their fingertips: www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.To
help CUB expand the website, just go to the homepage and click on “Join.”
Phone Savings Center
CUB’s best money-saving phone tips and tools
can all be found in one place: CUB’s Phone Savings
Center.
Learn how to trim your local phone bill with
CUB’s Local Phone Cost-cutter. It’s shown more
than 38,000 consumers how to cut phone costs by
a combined $7.2 million a year—that’s an average
of more than $194 a person. Just answer some basic
questions about your phone service and CUB’s costcutter will recommend the best plan for you.
CUB’s Phone Savings Center also helps consumers save on long-distance service. Find out how to nab a $20 long-distance credit with one of
the best deals in the nation: Pioneer Telephone’s Rate Buster Plan.
Plus, learn how to avoid paying for pricey extras such as 411 service
and inside-wire maintenance plans.
Cellphone Saver
The CUB Cellphone Saver
analyzed more than 8,000
wireless bills in 2009, recommending savings averaging
$319 a year. Customers who
have online billing with one
of the five major cell-phone
carriers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon or US Cellular)
can simply upload an online
copy of their wireless bill and, within seconds, they receive a complete
analysis recommending the cheapest plans and pointing out charges for
unnecessary services.
CUB Energy Saver and CUB Live Wire
CUB Energy Saver, the newest weapon in CUB’s money-saving arsenal,
is a service that helps consumers create a customized energy-saving plan
for their home, team up with friends and neighbors to win money-saving
prizes, and, most importantly, save money. Everyone who pledges to take
at least one energy-saving action will receive a free CFL
light bulb. Visit www.CUBEnergySaver.com.
CUB Live Wire is Illinois’ one-stop shop for energyefficiency tips, rebates and information. Learn how to
take advantage of energy-efficiency tax credits of up
to $1,500, get paid to have the utility haul away an old
fridge, or save $450 on a new gas furnace. Find the
answers at www.CUBLiveWire.org.
4
Natural
Checker
Gas
Price
CUB’s Natural Gas Price
Checker is your source for
comparing what the major
Illinois utilities charge for
gas. See how your utility’s
current rates compare to
past rates, dating back as far
as 1991.
Gas Market Monitor
With dozens of unregulated natural gas offers on the
table in northern Illinois, deciding whether to stick with
the utility’s rates or switch
to another company can be
confusing. CUB’s Gas Market Monitor clears up the
confusion by showing how
likely you are to save or lose
money with an alternative gas supplier. To date, 92 percent of unregulated offers have lost or are losing money.
CUB Action Network
Help CUB fight for lower natural gas, electric, and telephone rates.
Join the CUB Action Network and receive weekly e-mails about
breaking news that affects your bottom line. We’ll also alert you
when we need your help on one of our campaigns. Then, with the
push of a button, you can e-mail your elected representatives and ask
them to support legislation aimed at protecting your pocketbook.
Español Page
CUB is converting all
of our informational fact
sheets and money-saving
guides into Spanish. Find
CUB’s Español page by
visiting our website and
clicking on “Ahorre dinero
e infórmese.”
The CUB Voice
CUB: Make sure consumers are
protected in Verizon-Frontier deal
CUB fears Verizon’s proposal to
sell its local lines to Frontier Communications could lead to the kind
of trouble sparked by a similar
“deal” in New England.
The $8.6 billion proposal, announced in May, would have Verizon selling nearly 5 million local
lines in 14 states to Frontier. That
would affect about 600,000 Verizon customers in Illinois. The deal
needs state and federal approval
to proceed, and the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is expected to make a decision by May
of this year.
CUB and the Illinois Attorney
General’s office filed testimony
opposing the deal, pointing out
pitfalls when a small phone company like Frontier tries to buy up a
phone giant like Verizon.
Even if the deal would eventu-
ally go through, consumer advocates are pushing for safeguards
to give consumers more protection
from potential problems.
FairPoint Communications filed
for bankruptcy only 18 months after it bought Verizon’s local phone
network in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. FairPoint
has struggled with growing debt
and customer-service and billing
glitches.
In testimony for CUB, telecom
expert Lee Selwyn criticized Verizon for its “dismissive attitude”
toward landline service. ICC approval of the deal should be based
on what will ensure “safe, reliable,
and fairly priced telephone service” that meets the “present and
future needs of Illinois consumers
and businesses.”
Consumers who want to tell the
“Please
watch out
for our
residents”
-Sharon Krack,
Du Quoin
ICC how they feel about the Verizon-Frontier deal can call 1-800524-0795 or file a public comment
online. (Go to www.icc.illinois.gov
and click on “Coment On A Case.”
The case is 09-0268).
Sharon Krack, of Du Quoin, worries about her 92-year-old father.
“He can’t afford more bills and he
needs good phone service to call
for help if needed,” she wrote to
the ICC. “Please watch out for our
residents.”
Get the most bang for your heating-bill buck
With natural gas prices jumping in January for most Illinois
consumers, it’s more important
than ever to protect your home,
and your wallet, from freezing
temperatures.
HotTips
Put your
furnace on
a schedule
Don’t pay
for heat when
you’re
not
home or don’t need it. Programmable thermostats allow you to
set your home’s temperature according to your daily schedule.
Scaling back the temperature
while you are out of the house or
asleep can save about 1 percent
for each degree you lower the
thermostat. Potential savings:
$180 a year.
*images courtesy of Energy Star
Winter 2010
Hold on to
your heat
Don’t
overheat
your water
Heat rises,
making it especially important
to
properly insulate
your
attic. Measure the thickness of the
insulation. If it’s less than 11 inches
of fiber glass or rock wool, or less
than 8 inches of cellulose, you
could probably use more.
The furnace is the center of your
home’s heating system. Make sure
it’s operating efficiently by replacing filters every 30 to 45 days and
insulating any duct leaks with foil
or aluminum tape.
Doing the “little” things can result in big savings. Make sure your
home’s air vents aren’t blocked,
close doors to rooms that aren’t
in use, and caulk leaky windows
to prevent heated air from escaping. Potential savings: Up to $470
a year.
Water heating can account for roughly 14 to
25 percent of a home’s
energy costs, but you
can save up to 5 percent for every
10 degrees you lower your water
heater temperature. CUB recommends setting your water heater at
120 degrees (warm setting). Potential savings: Up to $30 a year.
Keep your water heater toasty
Insulating your electric water
heater can reduce costs by 4 to
9 percent. If you’re unsure your
heater needs further insulation,
touch it. If it’s warm, your heater
could use additional insulation.
You can buy an insulating blanket
at local hardware stores. Potential savings: Up to $25 a year.
TOTAL SAVINGS:
Up to $705 a year!
‘You get an F!’
Water company seeks
$56 million rate hike
Illinois-American Water, the
state’s largest water utility, is seeking to drench its customers with a
proposed $56 million rate hike.
Filed with state regulators last
May, the request calls for an average rate increase of about 30 percent, with increases varying slightly by area.
The request has sparked consumer outrage at public hearings
across the state, including in Homer Glen, where about 350 people
heard a consumer tell the company: “You get an F!”
How the hike would hit
customers
- The Pekin District: $1.9 million
- The Pontiac, South Beloit, Peoria,
Champaign, Streator, Sterling, Alton,
Cairo and the Interurban districts:
$45 million
- The Lincoln District: $1.1 million
- The Chicago Metro District: $10.2
million for water service and $2.8
million for sewer service.
Many consumers have their water needs provided by their community. Illinois American customers say the private, investor-owned
utility charges them double what
some municipal customers pay.
In testimony filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission
(ICC), CUB and the Illinois Attorney General recommended cutting
the utility’s proposal by at least $28
million.
Customers can tell state regulators why they shouldn’t approve
the company’s rate request by calling the ICC at 1-800-524-0795 or filing a public comment online. (Go
to www.icc.illinois.gov and click
on “Coment On A Case.” The case
number is 09-0319.)
The ICC is expected to make a
final decision this spring.
5
Silver Anniversary Celebration
Saving you money
CUB cut consumer costs by more than $66 million in 2009!
CUB helped Illinois consumers save more than $66 million in
2009, thanks to a hard-working
legal team, award-winning online
tools, a hotline that handles utility complaints, and phone clinics
across the Land of Lincoln.
“We’ve helped save Illinois consumers more than $10 billion over
the last 25 years, but with a struggling economy and so many rate
hikes on the table, CUB’s team had
to work harder than ever in 2009,”
CUB Executive Director David
Kolata said. “We passed the test
with flying colors, but there’s still
so much more work to do.”
CUB is currently juggling about
20 cases before state regulators and
the courts, with more than $1 billion in consumer money at stake.
CUB’s 2009 Highlights
CUB handles individual complaints from electric, natural
gas, and telephone customers
and many times saves them big
money by spotting utility billing
errors and other mistakes.
Biggest savings for a
natural gas customer:
$2,798
Biggest savings for a
phone customer:
$4,084
Legal battles
Utility expertise
CUB is fighting about 20 utility
cases before the courts and the
Illinois Commerce Commission
(ICC) concerning more than
$1 billion of your money. In the
one ICC rate-hike decision of
2009, CUB helped cut a Nicor
gas increase by $60 million.
CUB’s utility experts fielded
more than 10,000 calls, faxes,
e-mails and letters from the
public, showing consumers how
to cut their phone bills, catching
utility-bill errors, and securing
customer refunds, for total savings of about $615,808.32.
Online tools
Phone-bill clinics
Energy-efficiency help
CUB’s efficiency experts distributed money-saving tips and
Compact Fluorescent Light
(CFL) bulbs that could save
consumers $839,000 a year.
The volunteer CUB Board of Directors is chosen by consumers in each
of the state’s 19 congressional districts.
Front: Obie Cobb, vice president, Congressional District 13; William “Randy” Fritz,
Congressional District 18; Robert Craig Neff, president, Congressional District 10;
L. Kristofer Thomsen, treasurer, Congressional District 2. Back: John T. Gunn, Sr.,
Congressional District 3; George Miller, secretary, Congressional District 5; James
Betts, Congressional District 17; Richard Hetzer, Congressional District 8; Philip
DeMaertelaere, Congressional District 7; Bill Markel, Congressional District 15;
Sarah Bolton-Head, Congressional District 1; Marty Lazer, Congressional District
9. Not Pictured: Robert C. Beiter, Congressional District 6;Terryl W. Francis, Congressional District 19.
CUB’s 2009 Staff
CUB set a new record with 90
phone clinics, showing consumers
how to cut their bills by a total of
$359,918.28 a year. (Biggest individual savings: $138.58 a month in
Libertyville, June 16.)
Total Savings, 2009:
$66 million+
Total over 25 years:
$10 billion+
6
CUB’s 2009 Board of Directors
Biggest savings for an
electric customer:
$1,800
What we did for Illinois in 2009
CUB’s Local Phone Cost-cutter
and Cellphone Saver showed
consumers how to save a total of
$4.9 million a year, bringing total
savings to more than $10 million
over three years.
CUB’s 2009 staff and board of directors have worked
hard to bring money-saving services, an award-winning
website, and lower rates to Illinois consumers.
Front: Sandra Marcelin-Reme, Annie Warnock, Moraima Fuentes, Jim Chilsen, Evan
LaRuffa, Rebecca Devens, Elizabeth Davies, Shari Currie. Back: Annette Evans, Ben
Reike, Pat Clark, Celia Christensen, David Kolata, Cyrius Currie, Sarah Moskowitz,
Stephanie Rodriguez, David Mroczkowski, Patrick Deignan. Not pictured: LaNese
Chandler, Aimee Gendusa-English, Bryan McDaniel, Kristin Munsch, Julie Soderna,
Chris Thomas.
The CUB Voice
Congratulations
CUB on 25 years!
Gov. Pat Quinn (second from left) stands with CUB Board President Robert
Craig Neff (far left), CUB Board Member Philip DeMaertelaere (right of Gov.
Quinn) and CUB Board Secretary George Miller (far right) at CUB’s recent
fund-raiser.
Guv: ‘CUB is the best!’
Proclaiming that “CUB is the best,” Gov. Pat Quinn joined other elected officials and consumer advocates such as AARP Illinois and the Better Business Bureau for a recent event to celebrate
CUB’s 25th anniversary.
As part of the event, city, county and state officials from both
parties across Illinois wrote congratulatory messages to CUB,
which appear on the following pages. The money brought in
from the 25th anniversary event and from the ads on these pages
will be a big help as CUB battles about $1 billion in utility rate
hikes on behalf of Illinois consumers.
State Rep. John Bradley
Here’s to 25 years
fighting for consumers!
Great job CUB!
District Office:
501 W. DeYoung,
Suite 5
Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-9697
(618) 997-9807 FAX
Williamson County
Tom Cross
House Republican Leader
State Representative, 84th District
24047 W. Lockport Street
Suite 201
Plainfield, IL 60544
(815) 609-0099
www.joincross.com
Paid
P
Pai
d for
f by Citizens to Elect Tom Cro
Cross
Winter 2010
7
Cook County
Sheriff
Tom Dart
Salutes and Supports
The Citizens Utility Board.
Congratulations!
The 19th Ward
Organization
is proud to
support the
Citizens Utility
Board!
www.the19thWard.com
Congratulations
to CUB on
your 25th
Anniversary.
Thank you for
your work
advocating on
behalf of Illinois
consumers!
Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd Ward
Chicago City Council
State Senate President John Cullerton
Congrats to CUB
on your 25th
anniversary!
State Rep. Elaine Nekritz
Great job CUB!
Keep fighting the
good fight!
CUB appreciates your support...
Leinenweber Baroni & Daffada
Amy Brennan
Glauberman & Pollak
Congratulations, CUB,
on 25 years of
protecting consumers!
Heather Steans
State Senator
7th District
District Office:
5533 North Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
Ph: (773) 769-1717
Fax: (773) 769-6901
www.HeatherSteans.com
Paid for by Friends of Heather Steans
Thank you!
State Representative
Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez
24th District
Salutes CUB for 25
years of service to
Illinois consumers!
District Office:
2137 S. Lombard,
Suite 205
Cicero, IL 60804
(708) 222-5240
(708) 222-5241 FAX
staterephernandez.com
Winter 2010
Best wishes to CUB, from...
14th District State Rep.
Harry Osterman
On another year of protecting
Illinois utility consumers!
District Office: 5535 N. Broadway St., Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 784-2002, [email protected]
9
State Rep. Mike Boland
First Elected Vice President of the CUB Board
Congratulations
to CUB on Your
25th Anniversary!
District Office: 4416 River Drive • Moline, IL 61265 • 309-736-3360 • 309-736-3478 FAX • Rock Island County
State Senator Terry Link
State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie
Congratulations to the Citizens
Utility Board for 25 years
helping Illinois consumers!
Hats off to the Citizens
Utility Board and
congratulations on 25 years!
District Office
906 Muir Ave.
Lake Bluff, IL 60044
847-735-8181
[email protected]
www.link30.org
10
State Rep. Barbara
Flynn Currie
25th District
1303 E. 53rd St.
Chicago, IL 60615
773.667.0550 (o)
773.667.3010 (f)
[email protected]
The CUB Voice
Thank You CUB
for 25 years of
Fighting for Consumers!
Cook County Commissioner
Bridget Gainer - 10th District
Happy 25th Anniversary
CUB! Keep up the good
work!
Main Office
118 N. Clark Street
Room 567
Chicago, IL 60602
phone: (312) 603-4210
fax: (312) 603-3695
District Office
132 S. Water St.
Suite 101
Decatur, IL 62523
217-428-2708
Representative Bob Flider
101st District
Paid for by Friends of Bob Flider.
Congratulations to CUB
on 25 years of Advocacy on
Behalf of all Illinoisans
John D’Amico
State Representative
15th District
Lou Lang
State Representative
16th District
District Office
4404 W. Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
Phone (773) 736-0218
Fax (773) 736-2333
Email [email protected]
Website www.housedem.state.il.us
District Office
4121 Main Street
Skokie, IL 60076
Phone (847) 673-1131
Phone (847) 982-0393
Email [email protected]
Website www.reploulang.com
Winter 2010
Thank you CUB
for 25 years of protecting consumers!
State Senator
Jeff Schoenberg
www.jschoenberg.org
Cook County Commissioner
Larry Suffredin
www.suffredin.org
United States Representative
Jan Schakowsky
www.janschakowsky.org
Visit our District Offices
820 Davis Street, Suites 102-105, Evanston, IL 60201
Paid for by Schakowsky for Congress
11
12
The CUB Voice
Silver Anniversary Celebration
CUB’s “Rate-hike Fighters” list grows
CUB members loyal since 1984
Hundreds of Illinois consumers have taken a stand against $1 billion
in rate hikes on the table by donating $25 or more to CUB’s “Ratehike Fighters Hall of Fame.” Below are the latest consumers to help us
fight the good fight. Thank you! Call CUB, at 1-800-669-5556, to give
to CUB’s rate-hike defense fund.
‘We need somebody to speak up for us’
It was 1984 and Jim Sturdevant
became one of CUB’s first members because his wife liked the
idea. Dorothy Jacoby wanted to
protect her eight kids and disabled
husband. Charles Lange thought
the name, Citizens Utility Board,
was “really catchy.”
In CUB’s first year, the law that
opened the consumer group’s doors
would have closed them if it didn’t
get 10,000 members in three years.
It took only three weeks, thanks
to people like Jim, Dorothy, and
Charles. Since then, CUB has used
their contributions to help Illinois
families save more than $10 billion.
Jim Sturdevant’s wife, Mary,
died this past July, but in her
memory he cares for Handsome,
her black poodle—and continues
the 25-year tradition she started:
giving to CUB. “She thought it
was a good idea to have an advocate and she thought it was a
good idea to contribute regularly,
and I will continue as long as I’m
around here,” said the former federal worker from Granite City.
Back in 1984, Charles Lange, of
Evanston, was a professor of immunology doing ground-breaking disease research. He liked CUB’s name
and purpose: “CUB came around at
the right time with the right ideas.”
Dorothy Jacoby, from Du Quoin,
likes good causes, and in 1984, as she
cared for a husband disabled by a series of strokes, she gave to her own
cause by giving to CUB. “I had eight
children and wanted to keep my bills
under control,” she said. “We need
somebody to speak up for us.”
As a Blackberry user, Anne
McKibbin represents a new generation of CUB members. The former
CUB staffer who now works for an
environmental group says she’s inspired by those who built CUB.
“I give to CUB because it is a voice
for all utility customers,” McKibbin
said. “People like Dorothy, Jim,
and Charles have supported CUB
from the start, and I feel like I’m in
good company when I join them.”
Winter 2010
Verne Andrews, Jon Arndt, Louis Bagaline, Zenon Blas, Otis Clothier, Meyer
Cohen, Marie Davenport, Irving Distelheim, Nancy Formanek, Howard
Halpern, Robert Hill, Don Holste, Sheila Hooper, William Ludwig, Barbara
Miller, Martin Mowinski, Betty Norman, Virginia Plys, Jerry Roberts, Jeanette Rowland, Robert Schafer, Mitch Sherman, Shirley Slothower, J. Smith,
R. Smith, Walter Soroka, Charles Staples, J. Stastny, John Stevenson, William
Strutz, Jack Surridge, Lowell Thomas, William Tousek, Katherine Williams
Jim Sturdevant joined because his wife,
Mary, thought CUB was a good idea.
Dorothy Jacoby (center) joined CUB
for her family.
CUB’s 25th Anniversary Poetry Contest
Long-ago poet honors CUB’s 25 years
A longago poet
who loves
Compact
Fluorescent Light
(CFL)
bulbs but
hates rate
Richard Brennan
hikes is the
winner of CUB’s poetry contest.
Richard Brennan, 61, a state office worker from Forest Park, has
won 50 CFLs and a month of free
electricity. His name was drawn
from among the people who had
sent us poems in honor of CUB.
Brennan said he dabbled in
poetry as a young man, “but that
was long ago.” He sent CUB a
limerick:
A man bought his gas from Nicor,
and he watched his cash fly out the
door.
So he joined up with CUB and gave
Nicor the rub.
Now his money has value once more!
Brennan said he supports CUB
because it takes on the big utilities.
“Well, I suppose, like a lot of
people, I’m sort of at the end of my
rope here with the way the utility
companies are sticking it to us,” he
said.
One winner, a lot of nice poems
A few excerpts of some other submissions.
Charles Lange liked CUB’s name.
“...Dorothy, Jim,
and Charles have
supported CUB
from the start, and I
feel like I’m in good
company when I join
them.”
-CUB Member
Anne McKibbin
For lower phone bills, brighter lights,
And all your helpful tips,
We offer a hearty, grand salute
(And even a few back flips!)
For David, Patricia, Sandra and Jim—
So many, we cannot name.
This expert group of staffers
Is deserving of fortune and fame.
You fight for us, stand up for us,
Your efforts leave us floored.
So we’re proud to say, “Here’s to you!”
Our Citizens Utility Board.
—Karen Hannsberry, Chicago
CUB is a watchdog with bark AND bite.
Go! CUB! Go!
Keep up the good fight!
—Colleen Alop, Darien
For 25 years, CUB’s stood up for us,
Saving us money, trouble and fuss,
Our utility bills would soar out of sight,
If CUB wasn’t there
To fight the good fight,
So send CUB a check,
No matter how small,
CUB will use it to get
Good rates for us all.
—Marion Sorensen, Morris
CUB started when Quinn gave us
Marty,
Who cut ComEd’s profits, so hearty.
And now we have David,
who fights on, unabated to end utilities’ price-gouging party!
—Jill Anderson, River Forest
13
CUBBITZ
Freakonomics...Asked by The
New York Times for his opinion
on cell-phone plans, a Yale economist said “the whole pricing thing
is weird. You pay $60 to make
your first phone call. Your next
1,000 minutes are free. Then the
minute after that costs 35 cents.”
Of course, this “weird” pricing is
aimed at upping the companies’
ARPU, or average revenue per
user, leaving consumers to wonder, “ARPU serious?”
Imbalanced…Illinois consumers may be struggling with the
economy, but their utilities aren’t.
Third-quarter parent-company
profits were up: Exelon-ComEd’s
by 8 percent; Ameren’s by 11 percent; and Nicor’s by 946 percent!
It’s no coincidence that they have
benefitted from rate hikes in the
last 18 months. Who needs an
economic-stimulus plan when
you have captive customers?
Mildly confused...At a luxury
Florida resort and spa this past
fall, Ameren CEO Thomas Voss
claimed his company had earned
“a more favorable image” from
customers and its $130 million
rate-hike request was getting a
“very, very mild response.” But
it was only the night before that
150 Decatur-area consumers had
packed a public hearing on the
rate hikes. They weren’t there to
pat the company on the back.
Online eyeful…A T-Mobile
customer told The Consumerist
about a problem he had when
logging into his online account
to pay his cell-phone bill: Topless
women appeared in an advertisement for T-Mobile’s “Connect
with MobileLife” photo service.
“This seems like a highly effective way to encourage T-Mobile
customers to pay their bills on
time...,” said one reader. T-Mobile
said it was looking into the problem. Hopefully more fixing, and
less looking.
14
Good news!
Bad news!
Federal officials predict Midwest natural gas customers will
pay about 16 percent less to heat
their homes this winter compared
to last, but about $100 million in
gas utility rate hikes threaten to
eat up those savings.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) published the predictions in its report, Short-Term
Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook.
Lower natural gas prices account for most of the expected 16
percent savings, but a mild winter
weather forecast also contributed.
The report calculates that Midwest
homes will consume about 3 percent less natural gas this year.
A 16 percent savings translates
into $160 for the average customer
over the course of the winter heating season. Last year, the average
Midwest home racked up $1,001
in gas costs from October through
March. This year, that cost is expected to drop to $841.
The report indicates propane
and electric-heating customers
will also pay less, saving an average of $394 and $13 this winter,
Continued on p. 15
Despite pleas from sign-carrying
consumers, the Illinois Commerce
Commission (ICC) voted 4-0 in
favor of an $83.6 million rate-hike
for Peoples Gas and North Shore
Gas—a decision CUB immediately
vowed to appeal.
The increase, approved in January, roughly translates into $50 to
$70 a year in higher rates. In addition, the ICC is allowing Peoples
Gas to add a special charge to its
bills beginning in 2011 to cover the
financing costs of pipe upgrades.
“While the companies got about
$48 million less than what they
asked for, they still got more than
what they need,” CUB Board Vice
President Obie Cobb said. “The
companies should tighten their
belts just as their customers have
been forced to.”
Peoples Gas received a $69.8 million rate hike, while North Shore
Gas got $13.8 million.
Before the vote, consumers, carrying signs such as “Safe Heat is a
Human Right,” pleaded with the
ICC to reject the increase.
“Freeze the rates, not the ratepayers,” said Jesse Brown, of Chi-
Feds predict 16 percent ICC approves $84 million natural gas rate hike,
drop in heating costs
CUB to appeal
“Safe heat is a human right,” read
one sign at the ICC, as regulators voted
to approve an $84 million rate increase.
cago.
Lisa Pack worred about her
small business.
“My gas bill has always been
an issue to the profitability of my
business,” said Pack, adding that
several neighboring businesses
have closed.
The increases affect the rates
that cover the utilities’ expense
of delivering gas to homes—plus
a profit. These delivery costs take
up about a third of a customer’s
gas bill.
Gov. Quinn appoints two new faces to ICC
The five-member body that regulates Illinois utilities has two new
faces, including a new chairman.
In January, Gov. Pat Quinn appointed former 1st Ward Chicago
Alderman
1999 Manuel Flores to lead
the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), replacing Chairman
Charles Box, whose five-year term
had expired.
Prior to serving as alderman,
Flores worked as a prosecuter
in the office of the Cook County
State’s Attorney.
Quinn also appointed John Colgan to fill the seat vacated by Robert Lieberman.
Colgan, who came to the ICC
in October, formerly served as the
founding executive director of the
Newly appointed ICC Chairman
Manuel Flores takes questions during
a news conference announcing his appointment.
John T. Colgan, who was appointed
commissioner in October, questions a
Peoples Gas representative at a recent
ICC hearing.
Illinois Hunger Coalition, and later
at the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies (IACAA).
There he co-authored the Afford-
able Energy Plan, bringing rate relief to low-income families, seniors
and those on fixed incomes.
The CUB Voice
Marketing mayhem
CUB trial against gas company features female impersonation
A regulatory judge has recommended that the state fine a natural gas company for 16 violations
of state law and make it pay for an
audit of its sales operations after
CUB sparked a three-day trial that
included evidence that a peddler
even posed as a woman to close a
sale.
Before an Illinois Commerce
Commission (ICC) judge, CUB
Litigation Director Julie Soderna
argued that Canadian-based U.S.
Energy Savings, now doing business as Just Energy, has virtually
no control over its door-to-door
sales force as it markets some of
the worst deals in the state.
“Whatever policies the corporate office has in place are followed
willy-nilly, if they’re followed at
all,” Soderna said.
U.S. Energy has provoked thousands of consumer complaints as
unregulated companies have been
allowed to compete with the regulated utilities in the Nicor Gas and
Peoples Gas territories.
In 2008, CUB filed an ICC complaint against U.S. Energy, accus-
Avoid ripoffs
CUB’s Gas Market Monitor,
www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org,
tracks which unregulated
gas offers have been money-winners, and which have
lost money, to date.
CUB Senior Consumer Rights Specialist Aimee Gendusa-English testifies
in an ICC trial regarding consumer complaints against Just Energy.
ing it of misleading marketing. In
the resulting trial last fall, CUB
played an audio tape indicating
that a salesman posed as a female
customer in a phone conversation
with a company-hired agent.
The agent’s job was to talk to
the customer to verify that she
wanted to sign up for a U.S. Energy offer that would have locked
her into a $1.09 per therm rate for
five years. That rate was 35 cents
per therm above the utility’s rate
at the time.
In the tape, the female customer sounded suspiciously like
the salesman, just speaking in a
higher pitch. The agent even interrupted the process to ask: “Am I
speaking with (the customer) or
someone else?”
The sale did eventually go
through, even though the actual
customer testified that she had
never spoken to the agent.
The ICC judge found 16 violations of state law, adding up to
the $185,000 fine. He also recommended the audit to evaluate hiring, training, and sales procedures,
among other things.
The ICC is expected to rule on
the judge’s recommendation this
spring.
Rate hikes could
eat up gas savings
Continued from p. 14
respectively.
“Lower heating bills are a welcome relief to working Illinois
families,” CUB Board member
Philip DeMaertelaere said. “Unfortunately, Illinois utilities are attempting to ambush any savings
in the form of massive rate hikes.”
In fact, CUB is fighting the utilities in more than $1 billion in rate
cases, including about $100 million
in gas increases.
CUB and other consumer advocates are working hard to turn
back an electric and gas increase
proposed by Ameren ($130 million) and an $84 million increase
recently given to Peoples and
North Shore Gas. CUB is also campaigning for a $287 million refund
for Nicor Gas customers, accusing
the company of overcharging customers to fatten its bottom line.
Keeping warm for less
Natural Gas
2008-09 costs: $1,001
2009-10 costs: $841
Estimated Savings: $160
Electric
2008-09 costs: $1,092
2009-10 costs: $1,079
Estimated savings: $13
Propane
2008-09 costs: $2,096
2009-10 costs: $1,702
Estimated savings: $394
Citizens Utility Board
In 1983, the Illinois Legislature established the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) to protect the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. CUB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, overseen by a board of directors elected by its membership. CUB is funded primarily by its members. The CUB Voice is published four times a year and is mailed free of charge to CUB
members.
Board of Directors
Robert Craig Neff, President; Obie Cobb, Vice President; George Miller, Secretary; Kristofer Thomsen, Treasurer; Robert C. Beiter; James Betts; Sarah L. Bolton-Head; Philip DeMaertelaere; Terryl
W. Francis; Randy Fritz; John T. Gunn, Sr.; Richard Hetzer; Marty Lazer; Bill Markel
Staff
David Kolata, Executive Director; Patricia Clark, Associate Director; Jim Chilsen, Communications Director; Sandra Marcelin-Remé, Operations Director; Sarah Moskowitz, Outreach Director; Julie
Soderna, Litigation Director; Chris Thomas, Policy Director; LaNese Chandler, Consumer Rights Specialist; Celia Christensen, Environmental Outreach Coordinator; Cyrius Currie, Network Administrator;
Shari Currie, Outreach Coordinator; Elizabeth Davies, Paralegal/Outreach Assistant; Patrick Deignan, Communications Assistant; Rebecca Devens, Environmental Programs Coordinator; Annette Evans,
Telecom Rights Specialist; Moraima Fuentes, Consumer Rights Specialist; Aimee Gendusa-English, Senior Consumer Rights Specialist & Social Service Liaison; Evan La Ruffa, Hispanic Relations Coordinator;
Bryan McDaniel, Senior Policy Analyst/Government Liaison; David Mroczkowski, Database and Website Administrator; Kristin Munsch, Attorney; Ben Reike, Telecom Rights Specialist; Stephanie Rodriguez, Operations Assistant; Annie Warnock, Hispanic Relations & Media Coordinator
Winter 2010
15
Citizens Utility Board of Illinois, Inc. 309 W. Washington Suite 800 Chicago, IL 60606
The
CUB V ICE
The CUB Voice A publication of the Citizens Utility Board
1-800-669-5556 www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org
Winter 2010
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Printed on recycled paper
CUB makes a difference
Big phone savings lead to sweets for a ‘sweet’ CUB staffer
Success was sweet for a CUB
staffer who helped a consumer
save up to $600 a year on his
phone bill.
Martin Miles, a retired computer specialist at Northeastern
Illinois University, was paying
about $90 a month for plans on
two phone lines. Then he talked
to Telecom Rights Specialist Annette Evans. Now, the 71-yearold Chicagoan estimates he could
save $40 to $50 a month.
“She was fantastic,” Martin said.
Annette didn’t hesitate to fight
fire with fire when the AT&T rep
got, in Annette’s words, “kind of
testy” during a grueling call that
lasted more than 90 minutes.
Martin loved it: “She was fighting for me!”
For both lines, Annette recommended Consumer’s Choice, the
low-cost calling plans that CUB
designed and AT&T is forced to
16
market under a legal settlement.
She also told him to sign up for
Pioneer Telephone, one of the nation’s best long-distance deals, at
2-3 cents per minute.
It was just another day at the
office for Annette, but Martin felt
she had gone “above and beyond,”
and he hatched a plan to thank her,
using his son, Barry, who happens
to run a Chicago chocolate business called Tummy Ticklers.
“I called him up and said...’This
lady did a great kindness for me
and I want to give her something,’”
Martin said.
Just before Halloween, CUB received a cake box decorated with
orange and black ribbon. Inside
was a chocolate brownie loaf decorated with a gummy-bear Count
Dracula and a taffy apple that had
been smothered in so much chocolate and nuts that it was the size of
a softball.
Annette shows a Tinley Park consumer how to trim his phone bill.
Annette didn’t just sit back on
her sweet success. She sent Martin a thank you. “A lot of times
people will receive something and
that’s the end of it. She sent me a
nice note… and a CUB pamphlet,”
Martin said. “I thought that was
sweet.”
So sweet, in fact, that Martin is
telling all his friends about CUB.
“I say, ‘You want to cut your
phone bill down? Call CUB.’”
The CUB Voice