Peoples Gas seeks another big rate hike on Chicago heating bills

Chicago heating bills could get even higher next year under a proposed rate hike from Peoples Gas that would increase the average household natural gas tab by up to $11 per month.The city’s gas utility submitted a request to state regulators for the hefty rate hike on Monday, about two years after the Illinois Commerce Commission granted Peoples Gas a record-high $306 million rate increase.Under that decision, regulators ordered the utility to overhaul its controversial pipeline replacement program that ran far over budget and behind schedule for years.The hike “reflects the mandate made last year” to wrap up the work by 2035, as well as “the impact of inflation on all aspects of infrastructure work, similar to other sectors of the economy,” according to Peoples Gas.The Commerce Commission has the final say on what utilities can charge customers. Peoples Gas will make its case before the panel to justify the rate increases in a quasi-judicial process that’s expected to conclude by the end of 2026.“Peoples Gas works every day to keep bills as low as possible for customers, while ensuring that it delivers the reliable energy customers demand,” spokesman David Schwartz said in a statement. “The estimated customer impact of the filing — if approved by state regulators — would be $10 to $11 per month for the typical residential customer.”Their proposal would “greatly enhance the environmental sustainability of Chicago’s heating system” and “set the stage for use of cleaner energy sources such as renewable natural gas and hydrogen,” Schwartz…

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