CUB Challenges Illinois American Water's Latest Rate Increase

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) announced its opposition Wednesday to a proposed rate increase filed by Illinois American Water, warning that the hike would place additional financial strain on customers already facing substantial water and wastewater bill increases over the past decade.

Illinois American Water, the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility in Illinois, submitted its rate hike request to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The company serves approximately 1.3 million residents across 148 communities. Under the proposal, a typical residential water customer using 3,500 gallons of water could see an increase of about $14 per month for water service and $28 per month for wastewater service, depending on the service area.

CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz criticized the proposed increase, calling Illinois American Water a “rate-hike machine” that has already imposed three rate increases totaling $230 million over the last decade. Those increases included $110 million in 2024, $85 million in 2022, and $35 million in 2016.

“It is outrageous that Illinois American Water wants yet another rate hike,” Moskowitz said. “An average rate hike of $14 a month for water and $28 a month for wastewater will be a hardship for customers. Meanwhile, Illinois American’s parent company is rolling in profits, raking in more than $1 billion in 2024 and another $873 million in just the first nine months of 2025.”

CUB also expressed concern about the potential impact on customers of Aqua Illinois, the state’s second-largest private water utility. Illinois American Water is currently seeking regulatory approval to purchase Aqua, with the merger expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.

CUB has long opposed favorable legislation that allows private water utilities to pass acquisition costs onto customers. Since 2013, Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois have acquired 61 water and wastewater systems, charging customers $411.5 million and counting through fees permitted under state law. These fees include the “Qualifying Infrastructure Plant” (QIP) surcharge, which CUB aims to eliminate through proposed legislation.

Senate Bill 75, known as the Water Affordability & Accountability Act, would remove the QIP surcharge and require water utility shareholders to cover the majority of acquisition costs when utilities purchase local water or wastewater systems. CUB said it will continue to advocate for the bill in Springfield to prevent what it calls “plundering” of customers.

For more than 40 years, CUB has served as Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog group, representing residential and small-business utility customers. The organization has helped save consumers more than $20 billion by opposing rate hikes and securing refunds.

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