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Quote/Term of the Week
“Chicagoans deserve better than this. Time and time again, Peoples Gas has failed to deliver on their proposed plans at the expense of the people of Chicago. Allowing them to go through with their new rate hike would be like failing an open book test.”
— Ian Herberger, speaking on behalf of the Safer Cleaner Energy campaign during public comment.
[City Council Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy, March 3, 2026]
In the hot seat
Peoples Gas wants to institute a $202 million rate hike. If passed, customers would pay an average of another $11 a month, or about $130 a year.
Organizers are pushing back against the move, saying Chicagoans already are overburdened by their local utility bills. Over 145,000 Chicago households are at least 30 days behind on Peoples Gas bills. Meanwhile, parent company WEC Energy Group reported $1.6 billion in profits in 2025, and saw revenue surge to nearly $10 billion between 2024 and 2025, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“My own bills jumped from $60 in the fall, to $120 in the winter,” said Christine Tsai, a policy student at University of Chicago during public comment. “For many, this isn’t just a fluctuation in their budget, it’s a critical situation that forces people to choose between keeping their homes warm or putting food on the table.”
While community members and stakeholders urged City Council members to publicly call out Peoples Gas’ attempt to increase rate hikes, anything alders do would be symbolic. The actual authority to approve rate changes lies within the Illinois Commerce Commission.
The ICC is made up of five commissioners responsible for regulating public utilities (as well as other industries) under the guidance of the Illinois General Assembly. The ICC is quasi-judicial, meaning it functions similarly to a court as it interprets laws to apply regulations.
In 2023, the ICC allowed Peoples Gas to implement a record $306 million rate increase.
Peoples Gas leaders argue that this newest rate increase is necessary in part to complete its Pipe Retirement Program, a years-long effort to swap out aging underground pipes. Regulators halted the project in 2024 after work continued running years behind schedule and massively over budget.
The program was originally projected to cost less than $2 billion and replace more than 2,000 miles of pipes by 2030. As of 2025, it had already cost $3.3 billion, and only replaced 1,000 miles of pipe.
The ICC has since permitted Peoples Gas to resume work within a limited scope: only to retire at-risk gas pipes that present an acute safety risk by the end of 2035.
It will be up to the ICC commissioners to rule on whether or not Peoples Gas will be allowed to increase gas rates, which they are expected to decide later this year.
Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy by Aminah Koshul and Anson Tong
What you can do:
Attend Illinois Commerce Commission meetings: Learn how to attend the next meeting on March 19 here and how to give public comment here.
A version of this story was first published in the March 11, 2026 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.