Just in time for summer, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) will alert Oak Lawn consumers to the latest programs, rebates and incentives available to slash their home energy bills, and recommend energy-efficient actions that could save them hundreds of dollars a year.
CUB will also explain Illinois’ newly competitive electricity market, helping consumers navigate the dozens of power suppliers currently marketing plans in the Land of Lincoln.
"Illinois electric bills have never been more complicated,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. "But as consumers get ready to crank up their air conditioners, CUB will clear up the confusion and give some great tips to cut energy costs.”
Attendees will learn about:
* Electric choice in northern Illinois. Consumers can now choose from dozens of companies to supply their electricity. But even if an individual chooses an alternative power supplier, ComEd will be responsible for delivering the electricity itself, meaning consumers won’t be immune to utility rate hikes.
* CUB Energy Saver, www.CUBEnergySaver.com, a free online service that helps consumers build a personalized plan to cut their energy bills by hundreds of dollars a year, tracks real energy and monetary savings on ComEd bills, and rewards consumers who reduce their energy usage with restaurant and shopping discounts. The service has been showing consumers how to save an average of about $130 a year.
* ComEd’s Real-Time Pricing program, and how it’s been helping participants save an average of 15 percent on their electric bills.
*Efficiency incentives worth hundreds of dollars and how to get paid $35 for having ComEd junk an old refrigerator.
CUB is Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog organization. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $10 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure consumer refunds. For more information, call CUB’s Consumer Hotline, at 1-800-669-5556, or visit CUB’s award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.
