Illinois is one of the early adopters of energy choice in the United States. The 1997 Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law opened the door for competition by allowing customers in certain utility territories to choose an alternative retail electric supplier. Businesses in deregulated areas can compare offers and lock in low fixed rates per kilowatt-hour to reduce their monthly electricity bills.
Ameren Illinois – provides electricity delivery across central and southern Illinois. Customers can select an alternative supplier while Ameren maintains the poles and wires.
- *Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) – serves Chicago and northern Illinois. Businesses in ComEd territory can shop for power supply from licensed retail electric suppliers.
- *MidAmerican Energy – covers parts of western Illinois near the Quad Cities and along the Mississippi River. Companies can choose competitive supply offers while MidAmerican continues delivery services.
Natural Gas Utilities
Nicor Gas delivers natural gas to millions of customers in northern Illinois. Deregulation allows commercial customers to choose an alternative gas supplier while Nicor continues to operate the pipelines and provide emergency service.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas are sister utilities serving the Chicago area and Lake County. Their Customer Select programs let businesses shop for natural gas supply from licensed suppliers. The local utility still reads the meter and delivers the gas.
When shopping for natural gas in Illinois, compare offers based on price per therm, contract length and whether the rate is fixed or variable. Partnering with a reputable supplier and locking in a competitive fixed rate can lower monthly utility bills and provide budget certainty for your business.
