Summer Alert: Green Programs, Pricing Plans Can Help Illinoisans Save

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Jul 14, 2015, 05:44 ET

CHICAGO, July 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As temperatures rise, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) on Tuesday alerted Illinois residents to special pricing plans and energy efficiency programs that can help consumers go green and save green—and invited them to participate in a special survey for the chance to win $100 off their utility bills.

The survey is featured on www.CUBSmartPower.com. CUB's special website gives consumers information about historic upgrades to the power grid that are continuing this summer, as well as programs offered by the utilities that are designed to help consumers cut their utility bills. These include:

Hourly pricing programs, like ComEd's Residential Real-Time Pricing or Ameren's Power Smart Pricing, which allow customers to take advantage of electricity prices that plummet at certain times of day.
Peak time rebates, such as ComEd's Peak Time Savings, which give customers a credit for avoiding heavy electricity usage at certain times during summer days when electricity use is high.
Free energy assessments.
Installation of free energy-saving products and equipment.

The survey is part of a statewide summer campaign to educate consumers about these programs and how they can take advantage of them.

"We're always concerned that not enough Illinois consumers are aware of these money-saving opportunities," CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. "We want to hear from as many people as possible. CUB uses surveys like this to help guide our education and outreach programs in Illinois."

Any Illinois resident who takes CUB's survey by noon Friday, July 24, will automatically be entered in a drawing to win $100 off their utility bills.

CUB is Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, it has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline, 1-800-669-5556, or visit its award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.

SOURCE Citizens Utility Board