The Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday authorized Peoples Gas to restart a multibillion-dollar program to upgrade 1,100 miles of gas pipes beneath Chicago’s streets.
But regulators trimmed back the scope of the gas utility’s plans that would have allowed it to further modernize its system. They also directed Peoples Gas to accelerate the replacement of aging pipes that are most prone to leaks.
“The ICC’s decision is not a green light for Peoples Gas to return to business as usual,” said Doug Scott, the commission’s acting chair. It’s up to the utility to maintain a safe, reliable system, he added, but doing so “cannot come at unreasonable or unjustifiable costs to customers.”
The 243-page order is the latest twist in the decadelong debate over the future of Chicago’s gas system — and the chronically over-budget and behind-schedule effort to upgrade it. Questions about the future of gas as a heating fuel have increasingly joined concerns about affordability and public safety, as environmental groups urge big cities to transition away from the fossil fuel. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) has also called for the state to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by midcentury.
