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CUT YOUR COSTS: CUB TO GIVE TIPS ON SLASHING UTILITY BILLS

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) will give Woodridge consumers tips on cutting utility bills and explain competition in the electricity market—including the community’s recent vote for “municipal aggregation.” 

Yami Newell, community technology liaison with CUB, will share helpful information she has learned on the staff of Illinois’ only consumer watchdog group dedicated to helping utility customers save money. Her talk is: 

                        6 p.m., Wednesday, April 4

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            Woodridge Public Library, Program Room, 2nd Floor

            3 Plaza Drive

Find out what's happening in Woodridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Woodridge

Note: If you plan to come, please register with the library at (630) 964-7899.

 

"Consumers may not have a lot of faith in their phone, electric, and gas companies these days, but CUB’s in their corner,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. "We have some great tips on how to slash your bills and avoid money-wasters.” 

Attendees will learn about:

* Electric choice in northern Illinois. On March 20, Woodridge consumers voted in favor of a referendum giving local government officials the power to negotiate electricity prices with ComEd competitors on behalf of residents. But even if an individual or a community chooses an alternative power supplier, ComEd will be responsible for delivering the electricity itself, meaning consumers won’t be immune to utility rate hikes.

 

* CUB Energy Saver, www.CUBEnergySaver.com, a free online service that helps consumers build a personalized plan to cut their energy bills by hundreds of dollars a year, tracks real energy and monetary savings on ComEd bills, and rewards consumers who reduce their energy usage with restaurant and shopping discounts. The service has been showing consumers how to save an average of about $130 a year. 

* ComEd’s Real-Time Pricing program, and how it’s been helping participants save an average of 15 percent on their electric bills.

*Efficiency incentives worth hundreds of dollars and how to get paid $35 for having ComEd junk an old refrigerator.

*The low-cost Consumer’s Choice local-calling plans, designed by CUB under a legal settlement with AT&T. The plans are under a state-mandated price freeze through at least June of 2013 and have been saving Illinois consumers an average of about $200 a year.

*Illinois’ best long-distance plans, including how to get an automatic $10 credit negotiated by CUB. That amounts to more than five hours of free calls.

*Line-Backer, a costly—and optional—AT&T service that most people don’t need.

CUB is Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog organization. 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 $10 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure consumer refunds. For more information, call CUB’s Consumer Hotline, at 1-800-669-5556, or visit CUB’s award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.


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