Chicago alders and residents question Peoples Gas bid for $202 million rate hike
With Peoples Gas seeking a significant rate hike for next year, Chicago alders and residents spoke out on Tuesday at a City Council committee hearing on the proposal.
The City Council does not have any authority to determine whether the rate hike is approved, but the hearing gave elected officials and Peoples Gas customers an opportunity to voice their concerns in public.
"We're trying to be practical an recognize that some rate hikes are inevitable, but this rate hike seems to me to be excessive," said Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd).
Peoples Gas needs state approval to raise prices, which would not start until 2027 if given the green light.
According to their January rate increase request to the Illinois Commerce Commission, the proposed rate hike would generate approximately $202 million in new revenue for the utility, and add $10 to 11 a month to the average customer's monthly bill.
The latest rate hike request comes just three years after the state approved a $303 million rate hike for Peoples Gas, the largest in state history.
The proposal drew a crowd to the Chicago City Council Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy on Tuesday.
"Another $10 to 11 monthly increase only worsens the debt crisis when bills are already unaffordable," said Christine, a student at the University of Chicago.
"Giving them unconditional funding will only serve to increase gas bills for the people of Chicago," said Gabe, a student at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Spokespeople for Peoples Gas have explained in the past they need more money to meet the Illinois Commerce Commission's order to retire over 1,000 miles of old iron pipes that move natural gas through Chicago's heating system by 2035.
Tuesday's hearing gave members of the Chicago City Council a chance to better understand the impact replacing those pipes would have in Chicago and what's needed to make it happen.
"As members of the City Council, we represent constituents in the city of Chicago, and we are also ratepayers, and we care about what's happening with our utilities," said Ald. Maria Hadden (49th).
"The company is asking for this hike is because of the fact that the ICC has given them a [truncated] deadline of 10 years to complete the pipe replacement program," said Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th).
Illinois AARP director Philippe Largent said the projected rate hike is too much for utility customers he said they're already hearing from on a daily basis.
"Peoples Gas is at the through again," he said. "I pay $40 to Peoples Gas without using your utility. That's the first thing I pay."
The Illinois Commerce Commission is expected to make a decision on the rate hike in November.
A spokesperson for Peoples Gas said they're working to keep customer bills as low as possible while ensuring Chicagoans continue to have safe and reliable heat.
