By Kevin Bessler - Illinois Radio Network
Several Illinois-regulated utility companies volunteered extra protection for vulnerable residents this year.
Ameren Illinois, ComEd, Liberty Utilities, Nicor, North Shore and Peoples Gas declared they would cease disconnections to all residents this winter. Illinois implements statutory winter rules every year, but the voluntary moratorium will offer better protection, an Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) release said.
"In a normal year, there is a winter moratorium that is in place from December first through March thirty-first, and there are a lot of different qualifiers and details to how the moratorium works, and so what is different this year is that there is a clear-cut commitment from utilities that we regulate," ICC Chairwoman Carrie Zalewski told the Illinois Radio Network.