While watchdogs called on regulators to slash $137 million, or roughly two-thirds of the Peoples Gas request, the attorney general’s office went further, calling not only for the entire request to be rejected, but for the company to return $4 million to customers.

The settlement is intended to resolve concerns over excessive surcharges imposed on ratepayers under Peoples Gas’ pipe retirement program.

Over 100 Peoples Gas customers and utility watchdog advocates gathered in the cold in Chicago on Wednesday to protest a $202.3 million requested rate increase. If approved, the rate hike would begin adding $10-11 per month to typical residential bills in 2027.

Peoples Gas is asking the Illinois Commerce Commission to approve a $202 million rate increase, while Nicor Gas is seeking its own rate hike of $221 million.

The increase, which the company estimates will add $10-11 to monthly gas bills for typical residential customers in Chicago if approved by the ICC, comes three years after Peoples Gas received a $303 million rate hike in 2023, the largest in state history.

A review of the gas market in northern Illinois released by the consumer advocate groups Citizens Utility Board and Illinois PIRG highlighted that rising natural gas prices, in addition to rate hikes from gas utility companies, are creating a “double-whammy” for customers.

The gas utility company’s pipe replacement program had been on hold for over a year so the Illinois Commerce Commission could determine how to move forward with the program, which has been years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Thursday’s decision does not have an immediate effect on customers’ bills, according to state regulators.

Staying warm during Chicago’s frigid winters will get more expensive if Peoples Gas is permitted to resume its massive pipe replacement program, according to a report released Tuesday by the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group.

Although the mailers did not identify who paid for them, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 helped bankroll the campaign, Local 150 officials told WTTW News.

Natural gas is fueling a fight between consumer advocates, a powerful utility company and the state. Amid competing advertising campaigns, accusations of mismanagement and state decarbonization efforts, the Illinois Commerce Commission is starting a process that will shape how the state regulates the increasingly controversial industry.

While similar measures are already in place in New York City, Los Angeles and dozens of smaller cities, it is unclear whether the push for Chicago to join those cities will succeed, even with the backing of Mayor Brandon Johnson.

There is a battle over a multi-billion dollar, decades-long project to upgrade Chicago’s aging natural gas pipelines.

Chicago utility Peoples Gas is requesting a multimillion-dollar bump to its already record-high rate increase approved by regulators last month. Consumer and environmental advocates have pushed back strongly against the request.

Regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission unanimously approved rate hikes for four major natural gas utilities, but the little-known regulatory body’s decision was perhaps more notable for what it rejected. The board flexed its regulatory muscle, slashing the utilities’ requested rate increases by as much as 50 percent.

Utility customers throughout Illinois will likely see higher natural gas bills beginning in January after staff at the state’s utility regulatory agency recommended rate increases for four gas companies.

The Illinois Commerce Commission is considering several rate hikes, including two sought by the utilities Peoples Gas and Ameren Illinois, who say they are needed to fund infrastructure improvements.