ILLINOIS - The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) might reduce a proposed $128.8 million gas rate increase by Ameren Illinois by about one-third. Ameren Illinois and a few local advocacy groups shared their comments on the rate case.
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“In January, Ameren Illinois filed a plan with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) that will maintain the safety, integrity and reliability of the natural gas distribution system and support an orderly and equitable transition to clean energy sources,” said Brad Kleoppel, senior director of Gas Operations and Technical Services. “As with any proposed plan before the ICC, our natural gas proposal is currently undergoing an extensive review process, where stakeholders and interested parties are able to weigh in and give input. A final order is expected in November.”
A few local groups argue that the proposed reduction is not enough. During a media briefing on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, Jim Chilsen with the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and Abe Scarr with the Illinois Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) said that the proposed rate increase would raise average monthly residential customer bills by up to 13% or $10 a month.
Two state regulatory judges have recommended cutting the $128.8 million request by $44 million. The ICC, which is overseeing the rate case, will make its decision in November.
CUB and PIRG are encouraging ICC to further cut Ameren’s increase. Chilsen and Scarr argued that the rate increase is “bloated,” especially as “an expensive winter looms ahead.”
“We urge the Illinois Commerce Commission to go far beyond the proposed order and slash Ameren’s money grab,” Chilsen said. “Ameren’s proposed gas rate hike would be its fourth in seven years since 2018. Ameren has increased gas delivery rates by about $200 million, or 50%. At the same time, Ameren’s parent company has increased annual profits by about 45%...Customers see Ameren’s constant rate hikes coupled with big profits, and they say enough is enough. They’re tired of being treated like an ATM.”
Kleoppel emphasized that Ameren does everything it can to keep rates affordable for residents and businesses. He promised “stable natural gas prices” throughout the winter.
“Ameren Illinois takes a strategic approach to maintaining the natural gas system and keeping customer rates affordable,” he said. “A significant amount of natural gas is purchased in the summer, when prices are typically lower, and stored in 12 underground storage fields for withdrawal during the colder winter months. Thanks, in part, to these storage and price hedging strategies, our customers will benefit from stable natural gas prices this winter.”
He added that the proposed rate increase is a way to maintain Ameren Illinois’s service and safety.
"The investments we have proposed in our reliability plan will enable us to meet strict federal pipeline safety requirements, reduce leaks, and provide reliable and affordable natural gas to our residential and business customers,” he explained. “We evaluate all available methods to maintain compliance at the lowest possible cost based on operational feasibility and industry best practices.”
Scarr noted that a state law previously incentivized gas utilities to spend more money on aging pipes, but this law has expired.
“What we’ve seen in Illinois over the last decade has been a spending spree by gas utilities,” he said. “That law expired in 2023, yet we see gas utilities not reducing their spending down to historic levels, but trying to set a new normal where they continue this excessive spending on unnecessary projects, where they are not considering alternatives to traditional outcomes, traditional spending. We think they failed to justify that level of spending in the rate case and that the ICC can do more to limit that spending going forward.”
CUB and PIRG will also hold a public forum on Nov. 1, 2025, at Southern Mission Missionary Baptist Church in East St. Louis to further talk about the ICC rate case.
The ICC will ultimately make its decision in November 2025.
