Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.

According to their rate increase request to the Illinois Commerce Commission, the proposed rate hike would generate approximately $202 million in new revenue for the utility.  

The rate hike is not a done deal. Peoples Gas needs state approval to raise prices, which would not start until 2027 if given the green light. 

Until then, protesters planned to make their dismay known with a demonstration outside Peoples Gas headquarters at the Aon Center in downtown Chicago. 

Consumer advocacy groups are calling this proposed rate hike a cash grab. Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said Peoples Gas already has aggressively increased its rates over the past decade, and has taken in record profits

"We wanted to come out immediately after they filed the rate hike to show that there's opposition to this rate hike, and opposition to their business-as-usual plan for investment in their fossil fuel infrastructure," said Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.

A team from the Citizens Utility Board also was among the protesters objecting to the requested rate hike. In a statement, a spokesperson did not mince words — calling the proposed increase a "cash grab."

"At a time when Peoples Gas has been reaping massive profits as its customers pay soaring heating costs, the Chicago utility's bid for yet another rate hike is unconscionable," the CUB statement said.

Peoples Gas acknowledged its latest rate hike went into effect in November 2023, when the Illinois Commerce Commission approved a $303 million rate hike.

A Peoples Gas spokesman said this rate hike is necessary thanks to the Illinois Commerce Commission, which mandated the utility to replace more than 1,000 miles of gas pipes within the next nine years.

"The pipes are nearing the very end of their useful lives. That is an environmental concern with gas leaks, which we are stopping; and also, as time goes on, if the pipes are not dealt with as we are, it becomes a safety concern," Peoples Gas spokesman David Schwartz said.

Inflation was also named as a contributing factor.

Meanwhile, many Illinois residents are already paying more for gas this winter. The utility company said customers can save on energy costs with some simple at-home improvements, which include changing your air filter to help your furnace run more efficiently, installing a smart thermostat to reduce heat use when not needed, and putting a film on your windows to decrease draft. 

Peoples Gas warned customers a few weeks ago that their upcoming bills could be $15 to $17 higher than last year thanks to colder-than-normal temperatures and higher natural gas costs. Peoples Gas said the rising price of natural gas is a pass-through cost it can't control.

Multiple consumer advocacy groups plan to argue against the rate hike before state regulators as the Illinois Commerce Commission begins its months-long review of the request. They also plan to fight the proposed rate hike in court.