Governor JB Pritzker signed a pair of bills on Thursday aimed at improving transparency of utility billing and expanding access to discounts for low-income residents.
One bill expands a discount program for low-income electric and natural gas customers established under the state’s landmark energy legislation passed in 2021, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
In 2023, the commission ordered the state’s major utilities to begin offering discount rates, funded through a small charge on all customers’ bills.
This bill raises the eligibility threshold for access to benefits to the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, up from the previous 200 percent.
