CHICAGO — On Monday, Peoples Gas submitted a proposal to the Illinois Commerce Commission seeking a $202.3 million rate increase, triggering a wave of public backlash and protests from consumer advocacy groups.

Should the ICC approve this proposal, the average Chicago household could see their monthly gas bill rise by approximately $10 to $11. This request follows the 2023 approval of a historic $303 million rate hike, the largest the state has ever seen.

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On Tuesday, about a dozen advocates from consumer, environmental, and community organizations rallied outside the Peoples Gas headquarters in downtown Chicago. They voiced strong opposition to the rate hike and pledged to challenge the company’s spending plans as the case progresses.

Jim Chilsen, Communications Director for the Citizens Utility Board, expressed outrage, stating, “It’s infuriating that this new money grab comes just as Chicago faces some of its coldest weather, with many families struggling to cover their gas bills, alongside other essentials like medication and food.” He added, “Our message to Peoples Gas is clear: stop treating your customers like they’re an ATM.”

Advocacy groups highlight that Illinois residents are already burdened with increased gas costs due to unusually cold weather and rising natural gas prices, which have already tacked an extra $15 to $17 onto monthly bills.

CUB reports that supply prices charged by Peoples Gas have increased 24.9% from last year, adding that in November 2025 about 150,000 Peoples Gas customers were more than 30 days behind on their gas bills by a total of $65 million.

The ICC will review the request over the next 11 months, giving opponents the opportunity to submit expert opinions and reports countering the company’s submission.

Over recent years, the ICC has pushed the utilities to justify their costs more directly, slashing requested rate hikes in 2023 and recently rejecting over 40% of the spending requested by Ameren and Nicor.

Peoples Gas said in a news release the additional revenue is required to meet the ICC’s order to retire over 1,000 miles of old iron pipes that move natural gas through Chicago’s heating system by 2035. The company added that it expects Chicago home heating bills to remain lower than those in other major U.S. cities.

The statement pointed to the impact of inflation on infrastructure construction costs, as well as the need to meet environmental sustainability goals. The planned work will also help prevent leaks and set the stage for use of cleaner energy sources like biomethane and hydrogen, according to the company.

However, environmental and consumer advocates say the company’s approach does not make use of more cost-effective strategies for maintaining the system and transitioning to cleaner energy sources.

Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said the company could invest more in relining pipes.

“You can insert a liner into the pipe, and that can extend the life of the pipe for a hundred years, eliminate leaks and drastically reduce the risk of failure, all while costing less for Chicagoans,” Scarr told reporters at the protest. “That’s the type of alternatives we expect Peoples Gas to explore, that we haven’t seen them explore nearly enough, and that we’ll be challenging them to explore more through this rate case.”

ICC has taken a tougher stance with utilities under Illinois’ current governor, who wants to move the state toward renewable energy sources by 2050.

Consumer advocates also point to the filing’s proposal to raise shareholder return on equity from 5.5% to 10.1%. Peoples Gas parent company WEC Energy Group had a $34.3 billion valuation as of Dec. 31, 2025. The company made $1.2 billion in profit over the first nine months of 2025.

“Everybody agrees that Peoples Gas needs to maintain its system, that’s their responsibility,” Chilsen told reporters at the protest. “But they’re supposed to do it competently and they’re supposed to do it in a way that doesn’t bankrupt your customers.”

Peoples Gas serves an estimated 894,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Chicago and 165,000 customers in the northern suburbs.

“What we’re starting to see this winter are increasing gas prices. And if this rate hike is approved, customers will face a one-two punch of even higher delivery rates and higher gas prices,” Scarr said.

Chicagoan Maggie Bowman doesn’t know how much more she can take.

After paying $500 a month for gas service this winter, the owner of a two-flat in the city’s Edgewater neighborhood is against another Peoples Gas rate hike.

“I would say, approaching each winter, my gas bill and how it was going to increase is my biggest financial stressor in my budget,” Bowman said.

Bowman was among those protesting Monday.

State regulators have the final approval of any rate increase.

The Illinois Commerce Commission could make a decision by November, meaning those rate hikes would take place in 2027.

WLS’ Evelyn Holmes contributed to this report.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.