People's Gas holds firm on proposed $202M price hike at City Hall hearing

Consumer advocates urged City Council members on Tuesday to symbolically resist a proposed $202 million Peoples Gas rate hike, arguing Chicagoans already are plagued by heating bill debt.

Although City Hall has no say in the matter, that didn't stop advocates from blasting the gas company during its first appearance before the Council's Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy.

It will be up to the Illinois Commerce Commission to rule later this year on the gas company's request to raise gas rates by an average of around $11 a month per customer, or about $130 per year.

The potential hike comes two years after the Illinois Commerce Commission granted the utility company a record $306 million rate increase. Last year regulators ordered the utility to overhaul its controversial pipeline replacement program that was years over budget and behind schedule.

Maria Bocanegra, president of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, told the committee the increase is needed to complete a state mandate to replace aging pipes by 2025, as well as offset higher operating costs from inflation.

She said the company is partnering with the city clerk’s office to help people find discounts for their bills, and is working to start a pilot for greener geothermal energy in the city.

In the hearing, Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) said the company has posted record profits while some of her constituents struggle to pay their gas bills.

Peoples Gas’ parent company, WEC Energy Group, reported $1.6 billion in profits in 2025, up from $1.5 billion the year prior. That’s after the company saw revenue grow eightfold, to nearly $10 billion between 2024 and 2025.

According to the Illinois Commerce Commission, more than 145,000 Chicago households were at least 30 days behind on their gas bill in January — totaling nearly $10 million.

The gas company counters that the cost of the pipeline replacement project is necessary for safety.

The renewed pipe retirement project is set to kick off again in 10 Chicago neighborhoods this month.

Pipe replacement originally had been expected to cost less than $2 billion, with more than 2,000 miles of aging underground pipes replaced by 2030. Instead, as of last year, it already had cost more than $3.3 billion, with only about 1,000 miles of pipe replaced.

Replacing the remaining 1,000 miles of particularly leak-prone pipe is now projected to take until 2035, with no update cost estimate available.

Illinois Public Interest Research Group director Abe Scarr wasn’t confident the company could fulfill the mandate.

The company needs to replace 100 miles of pipe per year to stay on track, but historically completes 60 miles annually, according to a report from Scarr’s group.

Scarr and other advocates encouraged the gas company to cut program costs by leaning into relining pipes, which can potentially double their lifespan.

They also urged the company to invest in green energy alternatives as opposed to more gas infrastructure — which, they say, likely will be phased out before it's paid off.

“This replacement-first approach is too expensive,” Scarr said during the hearing.