{"id":381,"date":"2024-01-12T12:31:25","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T18:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/?p=381"},"modified":"2024-01-12T14:51:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T20:51:32","slug":"changes-that-affect-your-2024-illinois-power-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/changes-that-affect-your-2024-illinois-power-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Changes That Affect Your 2024 Illinois Power Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>New Laws And Your Illinois Power Bills <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/monthly-power-bills-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"New laws for power bills went into affect on January 1. Learn how they could affect your Illinois energy costs and why you can do.\" class=\"wp-image-389\" title=\"New Laws And Your Illinois Power Bills\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/monthly-power-bills-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/monthly-power-bills-230x153.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/monthly-power-bills-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/monthly-power-bills-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/monthly-power-bills.jpg 724w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption><center><em>Learn about the mix of rate hikes and consumer protections that took effect on January 1. Find out how they affect your Illinois power bills.<\/em><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding your Illinois electricity bill can be difficult, especially when reading legalese becomes involved. And with several <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7chicago.com\/new-illinois-laws-2024-full-list-pritzker\/14184011\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">new laws<\/a> taking effect this year, it may seem harder to predict your electricity costs. But don&#8217;t worry. We&#8217;re here to explain the new legislation affecting your power bills. And how you can save money with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/best\">best energy supplier<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>New Illinois Power Shutoff Law<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Signed into law in June, House Bill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilga.gov\/legislation\/BillStatus.asp?GA=103&amp;DocTypeID=HB&amp;DocNum=1541&amp;GAID=17&amp;SessionID=112&amp;LegID=143862\">HB1541<\/a> amends the Illinois Public Utilities Act to protect consumers during extreme summer heat. In other words, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/companies\">electric and natural gas companies<\/a> can&#8217;t cut off service to residential customers with unpaid bills when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees. This also includes when there is a heat watch, advisory, or warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chicago has been breaking heat index records in recent years. And with temperatures across the world skyrocketing, this sort of legislation can help prevent <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/2023\/8\/22\/23840045\/chicago-summer-heat-index-cooling-centers-heatwave-deaths-editorial\" rel=\"nofollow\">heat deaths<\/a>. So while this change won&#8217;t affect your electricity bill directly, it could save lives all across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Illinois Rate Hikes Affecting Your Power Bills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Next are some changes that will directly affect your electricity prices. Back in November, the <strong>Illinois Commerce Commision (ICC) <\/strong>began reviewing and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=340&amp;action=edit\">cutting proposed rate hikes<\/a> from several major gas and electric utility providers. And while those hikes were cut dramatically, there&#8217;s still going to be a few price differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/companies\/ameren\">Ameren<\/a> <\/strong>customers can expect to pay an extra 4.33 every month on average for their electricity. However, natural gas rates should be about $17 less than they were last year. But that <strong>Ameren<\/strong> rate could increase if their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stlpr.org\/economy-business\/2024-01-02\/gas-bills-will-drop-and-electric-bills-will-rise-for-ameren-illinois-customers-in-2024\" rel=\"nofollow\">amended grid plan<\/a> design is accepted this spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/companies\/comed\">ComEd<\/a><\/strong> customers shouldn&#8217;t see much of a price increase at all. The <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/business\/2023\/12\/14\/24001273\/comed-rate-hike-electric-bills-rejected-icc#:~:text=ComEd's%20proposed%20rate%20hike%2C%20filed,from%20today's%20average%20%2493%20bill.\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>ICC <\/strong>rejected<\/a> the utility&#8217;s rate hike request because their proposal didn&#8217;t comply with Illinois clean energy laws. However, <strong>ComEd<\/strong> is expected to return in the spring to offer a new rate hike proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Don&#8217;t Let Rate Hikes Get You Down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>But you can avoid these rate hikes. By shopping for a lower fixed electricity rate, you can save money and lock in your rate throughout the year. So, using the Illinois <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/electricity\/sales_revenue_price\/pdf\/table_5A.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0DX7Zar389C6UvfaV8lIVt2ME74Uk02yZa9sqVxHr8ADZVRdFYRoD6A5s\">average electricity usage<\/a> of around 720 kWh a month, let&#8217;s compare these rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/companies\/ameren\">Ameren <\/a><\/strong>customer, we have just the plan for you. The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/companies\/xoom-energy\">Xoom Energy<\/a> Surelock 24<\/strong> is offering a 2 year fixed rate at only 6.09 cents per kWh. There is a monthly charge of $4.99 to consider. But even with the monthly charge, compared to the current PTC rate you could save $15 a month. That&#8217;s $180 in a year!  In addition, you can sign up for the&nbsp;<strong>XOOM Energy<\/strong>&nbsp;rewards program,&nbsp;<em>Xoom Extras<\/em>. Their program helps earn you discounts, gift cards, and brings you more value than just an electricity plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a long contract isn&#8217;t right for you, then you can also check out <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/companies\/nrg-energy\">NRG Home<\/a> <\/strong>and their <strong>Flex Electric Choice <\/strong>plan. This 3 month fixed rate will only costs you 6.80 cents per kWh. Compared to the current PTC rate, you could save $13 a month. And without any pesky monthly fees to worry about, all those savings are yours to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Shop and Save on Your Illinois Power Bill<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding what&#8217;s affecting your electricity bill doesn&#8217;t have to be complicated. And neither does saving money on electricity. That&#8217;s because we not only help make choosing plans easier, we can help you save more. Compare and shop the best plans at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\">https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Laws And Your Illinois Power Bills Understanding your Illinois electricity bill [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":392,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions\/392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ilenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}