The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has announced that several of the state’s large and small regulated electric, natural gas, water and sewer utilities have voluntarily agreed to keep residential customers connected for an additional month due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. An original moratorium on disconnections expired on July 26, 2020, but with the voluntary extension, disconnections for residential customers will not occur for most customers until September 2020. Several utilities have also extended similar relief to business customers and have agreed to continue waiving late fees. The City of Naperville has also extended its moratorium on electricity disconnections until September.
Ameren Illinois, Aqua Illinois, Consumer Gas, ComEd, Illinois American Water, Liberty, Nicor, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, Utility Services of Illinois are among the utilities with extended moratoriums on service disconnections.
On June 18, 2020, the ICC approved the initial COVID-19 utility relief agreements, which were the product of negotiations between thirteen utility companies and numerous consumer advocacy groups and parties. In addition to extending the moratorium on disconnections and late payment fees, the agreements provided historic consumer protections involving utility credit and collection practices, deferred payment agreements, and temporary waivers of reconnection fees and new deposit requirements.