STATE REGULATORS TO RULE WEDNESDAY ON NICOR'S RECORD-BREAKING RATE-HIKE PROPOSAL, CUB AVAILABLE TO COMMENT

NICOR'S BID FOR $314 MILLION INCREASE WOULD DELIVER SEISMIC JOLT TO CONSUMERS AS WINTER-HEATING SEASON BEGINS

CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT:
The specter of a record-breaking rate hike looms over Nicor Gas' 2.3 million customers Wednesday when the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issues its decision on the utility's request for a fifth increase in heating bills in the past eight years. That ruling will be announced during the ICC's regular open meeting Wednesday, starting at 11:30 AM.

If approved, the proposal would vault the cumulative increase in Nicor rates over that period beyond $1 billion and further deplete the strained budgets of Illinois families who are already plagued by a gauntlet of rising costs for utilities, food, and healthcare. 

Meanwhile, Nicor continues to flourish financially, generating a revenue haul that has helped its corporate parent, the Southern Company, accrue $25 billion in cumulative profits since 2017. 

WHEN:
11:30 AM, WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19, 2025. (Note: The ICC meeting begins at 11:30 AM. The Nicor decision appears midway through the agenda.)

WHERE:
The Chicago Office of the Illinois Commerce Commission
160 North LaSalle Street, Eighth Floor, Bilandic Building, Chicago, Illinois 60601

A livestream of the meeting will be posted at these links: 
https://www.icc.illinois.gov/meetings/meeting/commission-meeting/21652

https://www.icc.illinois.gov/about/Media/

For more than 40 years the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) has been Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog group. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-669-5556 or visit CUB's website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.

SOURCE Citizens Utility Board