Peoples Gas files $202 million rate increase request with Illinois
regulatory body
[January 07, 2026]
By Maggie Dougherty
CHICAGO — Peoples Gas on Monday filed a $202.3 million rate hike request
with the Illinois Commerce Commission, sparking public outcry and
protests from consumer advocates.
The increase, which the company estimates will add $10-11 to monthly gas
bills for typical residential customers in Chicago if approved by the
ICC, comes three years after Peoples Gas received a $303 million rate
hike in 2023, the largest in state history.
Around a dozen consumer, environmental and community advocates gathered
in front of the Peoples Gas headquarters in downtown Chicago on Tuesday
to denounce the filing and vowed to push back against spending requests
over the course of the case.
“It’s all the more outrageous that this new cash-grab comes as Chicago
descends into one of the coldest months of the year, and far too many
families can’t afford to pay Peoples Gas bills amid rising costs for
other necessities like prescriptions and groceries,” Citizens Utility
Board Communications Director Jim Chilsen said in a release after the
filing.
The ICC will review the request over the next 11 months, giving
opponents the opportunity to submit expert opinions and reports
countering the company’s submission.
Over recent years, the ICC has pushed the utilities to justify their
costs more directly, slashing requested rate hikes in 2023 and recently
rejecting over 40% of the spending requested by Ameren and Nicor.
Peoples Gas said in a news release the additional revenue is required to
meet the ICC’s order to retire over 1,000 miles of old iron pipes that
move natural gas through Chicago’s heating system by 2035. The company
added that it expects Chicago home heating bills to remain lower than
those in other major U.S. cities.
The statement pointed to the impact of inflation on infrastructure
construction costs, as well as the need to meet environmental
sustainability goals. The planned work will also help prevent leaks and
set the stage for use of cleaner energy sources like biomethane and
hydrogen, according to the company.
However, environmental and consumer advocates say the company’s approach
does not make use of more cost-effective strategies for maintaining the
system and transitioning to cleaner energy sources.
[to top of second column]
|
A demonstrator holds a sign reading, “We are NOT the gas company’s
ATM!” at a protest held by consumer, environmental and community
activists on Jan. 6, 2026. The group was criticizing Peoples Gas’
filing that sought to raise gas delivery rates in 2027. (Capitol
News Illinois photo by Maggie Dougherty)
Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said
the company could invest more in relining pipes.
“You can insert a liner into the pipe, and that can extend the life of
the pipe for a hundred years, eliminate leaks and drastically reduce the
risk of failure, all while costing less for Chicagoans,” Scarr told
reporters at the protest. “That’s the type of alternatives we expect
Peoples Gas to explore, that we haven’t seen them explore nearly enough,
and that we’ll be challenging them to explore more through this rate
case.”
Consumer advocates also point to the filing’s proposal to raise
shareholder return on equity from 5.5% to 10.1%. Peoples Gas parent
company WEC Energy Group had a $34.3 billion valuation as of Dec. 31,
2025. The company made $1.2 billion in profit over the first nine months
of 2025.
“Everybody agrees that Peoples Gas needs to maintain its system, that’s
their responsibility,” Chilsen told reporters at the protest. “But
they’re supposed to do it competently and they’re supposed to do it in a
way that doesn’t bankrupt your customers.”
Peoples Gas serves an estimated 894,000 residential, commercial and
industrial customers in Chicago and 165,000 customers in the northern
suburbs
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
 |
