Cancel the Gas Utility Blank Check

Six years ago, the Illinois legislature gave gas utilities permission to charge their customers more so that they could make urgent repairs, like replacing old cast iron pipes, repairs that were needed to keep us all safe. Unfortunately, instead of just making the necessary safety repairs, the utilities are spending money on things like installing new meters and replacing perfectly safe pipes, and sticking all of us with the bill.

We didn't give the utilities a blank check, and we can't afford to waste money on upgrades we don't need, especially when we could be investing that money on cleaner, safer energy to heat our homes. That's why we're calling on the legislature and Governor Pritzker to go back to the original plan -- and tell the utilities they can only charge customers more for legitimate, urgent safety repairs.