Chicago Sun-Times - All | Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas settle with state for $125 million for raising prices for 'ineligible' projects by Violet Miller AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information. Peoples Gas and its affiliate North Shore Gas have agreed to a $125 million settlement with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul over surcharges and fees collected from 2017‑2023 that the state says were spent on ineligible projects, expired permits and unsubstantiated change orders. Pending approval by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the deal would provide affected customers with bill credits of roughly $50 in 2026 and $40 in each of the next two years, while requiring the utilities to cut $130 million in capital costs, competitively bid contracts over $25,000, document cost changes above $5,000 and improve project close‑out reporting. The settlement comes amid criticism of the companies’ over‑budget, delayed Accelerated Main Replacement Program—originally slated to replace 2,000 miles of aging gas pipes by 2030 at under $2 billion, but now exceeding $3.3 billion and pushed out to 2035—while the utilities also seek a separate $202 million rate hike that would add about $11 per month to customer bills. Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/04/30/peoples-gas-north-shore-gas-125-million-settlement-raoul-attorney-general #PeoplesGas #KwameRaoul #IllinoisCommission #WECEnergy #CitizensUtility #SarahMoskowitz