Nicor files for $221M gas rate hike less than 2 months after last
increase approved
[January 10, 2026]
By Maggie Dougherty
CHICAGO — Nicor Gas on Friday filed a $221 million rate hike request
with the Illinois Commerce Commission, less than two months after state
regulators approved a $168 million rate hike for the utility.
The company estimates that the increase, if approved in full, will add
less than $6 to monthly gas bills for typical residential customers, or
6.7% annually, starting in 2027. Nicor distributes natural gas to around
2.3 million customers in northern Illinois.
Consumer advocates expressed outrage with the move, calling on state
regulators to reject the request, which comes only days after Peoples
Gas filed for a $202 million rate hike on Monday.
“I’m shocked that Nicor is proposing to raise rates again, just one
month after imposing its last rate hike,” Illinois PIRG Director Abe
Scarr wrote in a statement. “Nicor is busting its customers’ household
budgets because it apparently refuses to live within its own.”
Illinois PIRG is a consumer advocacy group that often challenges rate
requests by Illinois energy utilities. If approved in full by the ICC,
Nicor’s request will have increased by about 170% in the last decade,
according to PIRG, an increase it says is “significantly higher” than
the state’s other major gas and electric utilities.
Nicor said in a statement that the investment is needed to enhance the
reliability of its natural gas distribution system, particularly through
extreme weather, and to remain in compliance with state and federal
regulations.
That includes replacing aging equipment, inspecting and repairing over
400 miles of transmission pipelines, and safety-related replacement of
over 45 miles of distribution lines, according to the company.
Consumer groups challenged the assertion that these investments are
necessary now, saying the company has tripled its infrastructure
spending over the past decade and that Nicor has already replaced its
old iron pipes that were at a high risk of failure.
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The Michael A. Bilandic Building in downtown Chicago, shown in May
2024, houses the offices of the Illinois Commerce Commission.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Gas utilities deliver natural gas to consumers at market rates and make
money on the delivery of the gas, not on the gas itself. This, consumer
groups argue, incentivizes overly aggressive spending on infrastructure
projects related to gas delivery.
An analysis by the Future of Heat Initiative, an independent nonprofit
that makes recommendations on utilities’ policy, found that gas delivery
charges now make up 65% of customers’ gas bills in Illinois, up from 36%
in 1984. The conclusion, the report finds, is that customers pay more
for pipes and delivery of gas than for the gas itself.
The filing will undergo an 11-month review period by the ICC, giving
consumer groups the chance to intervene and formally challenge spending
requests. If allowed by the ICC, the rate hike would go into effect next
January.
“If Nicor is granted this $221 million increase, it would push the
utility’s total rate increases to more than $1 billion in less than a
decade,” said Sarah Moskowitz, executive director of the Citizens
Utility Board, a utility watchdog group created by the Illinois
legislature.
“CUB will challenge Nicor’s money grab and we call on state regulators
to crack down on the company,” she added. “We are deeply concerned that
this sixth rate hike will push even more gas customers into hardship.”
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
