Yesterday the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), responsible for protecting Illinoisans from unfair electricity rates, approved a controversial proposal by ComEd and Ameren that will cause monthly electricity bills to increase dramatically.

By approving the proposal, the ICC has allowed the utilities to raise rates without adequate state oversight to ensure Illinois customers are charged a fair and reasonable rate.

Please contact your state representative and ask them to take action and prevent utilities from charging consumers unfair rate hikes. Then, ask your friends and family to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:

pirg.org/alerts/route.asp


Background

ComEd and Ameren have convinced the Illinois Commerce Commission to approve a controversial new system (called an auction) for setting electricity prices. ComEd has admitted the auction is likely to produce a big rate increase in 2007, after a state-mandated rate freeze ends. In fact, it's estimated the utilities could add as much as a billion dollars per year to the Illinois electric bills as a result of the auction proposal.

To read the recent Chicago Tribune news story about this, click here:
www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0601250207jan25,1,7084466.story?

Such a rate hike is unnecessary, unfair, and unreasonable.
* With current rates where they are, the utilities are prospering. ComEd's parent company Excelon made $1.9 billion in profit during 2004. Ameren, during the same year, made $530 million.
* Current Illinois law requires state regulators to review whether rates are just and reasonable. Using the auction, this critical consumer protection is eliminated, and leaves it up to the energy companies to decide the price.
* Using auctions to set the price of electricity, when customers can't shop around for a different electric provide, is unfair and violates the Illinois Public Utilities Act.

To protect consumers from unfair rate increases, the Illinois General Assembly must extend the current rate freeze enacted when the state passed a law to begin deregulating electric utilities. Doing so will hold utility prices at a fair rate, particularly during a time when Illinoisans' are struggling with increased gas and heating costs.

Please contact your state representative and ask them to take action and prevent utilities from charging consumers unfair rate hikes. Then, ask your friends and family to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:

pirg.org/alerts/route.asp

Sincerely,

Rebecca D. Stanfield
Illinois PIRG Environmental Attorney
RebeccaS (at) illinoispirg.org
www.IllinoisPIRG.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.