Article Summary Peoples Gas cut $58 million, or nearly 30%, from the rate hike it requested in January. If approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, typical residential bills would increase by $7-8 per month in 2027, rather than the $10-11 originally requested. The adjusted request falls short of what utility watchdogs are seeking. Consumer advocates had previously recommended that regulators reject upwards of two-thirds of the requested increase. The amended request reflects a reduction in the miles of pipes Peoples Gas expects to be able to replace next year, thanks to labor constraints driven by data center construction. This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. Editor’s note: This story was updated to provide more clarity on the definition of pipeline retirement on Thursday, July 16 at 10:15 a.m. CHICAGO — Peoples Gas announced Tuesday that it cut $58 million, or nearly 30%, from its January rate hike request. The adjustment, reflecting lower than expected costs for recent infrastructure investments as well as the deferral of other construction to later years, brings the revised request to $144 million. If approved by regulators this December, the amended request would add around $7-8 to monthly bills for typical residential customers, down from the $10-11 sought in the original request. It would take effect at the end of 2026 or start of 2027, depending on the timing of the decision. “Peoples Gas works every day to keep bills as low as possible for customers, while delivering the reliable energy Chicagoans need,” Peoples Gas President Maria Bocanegra said in a statement. “This updated filing reflects that commitment.” Peoples Gas provides natural gas service to more than 898,000 customers in the city of Chicago. But for consumer advocates who recommended the original $202 million request be cut by roughly two-thirds, the adjustment doesn’t go far enough. “It’s ridiculous for Peoples Gas to seek a pat on the back for this reduction when it’s still seeking to get a huge rate hike and take money from customers in a time when the cost of living is soaring,” Citizens Utility Board spokesperson Jim Chilsen told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday. Read more: Peoples Gas files $202 million rate increase request with Illinois regulatory body | Cut with ‘an axe’: Watchdogs, AG call for massive cuts to Peoples Gas rate request Abe Scarr, director of Illinois PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, welcomed the adjustment and interpreted it as a positive sign of more to come. “Normally a 29% reduction in a rate hike would be a pretty good outcome at the end of the case, and we’re not even halfway through,” Scarr said. “From my perspective, it’s an acknowledgement that they can’t justify the full initial rate case, and I think as we move through the rest of the process we’ll be able to show that there’s more they can’t justify.” Labor costs, meeting goals The $58 million shaved from the request reflects costs of recently completed infrastructure work that were lower than expected, as well as a need to defer certain construction to coming years. The regulatory body that oversees Peoples Gas, the Illinois Commerce Commission, has directed the company to retire 1,020 miles of natural gas pipes under Chicago’s streets by the end of 2034. Traditional pipe retirement often means digging up streets and sidewalks to replace old cast-iron pipes with new plastic ones. Consumer advocates argue pipes can be repaired more cheaply using alternative technologies like sealants that coat them from the inside.  When Peoples Gas filed its rate request earlier this year, it expected to retire around 35 miles of aging iron pipes this year and up to 53 in 2027. However, in its revised request, the company has changed its targets to around 14 miles this year and 47 miles next year, thanks to updated forecasts on project schedules, costs and construction workforce availability. The availability of skilled labor to work on the pipe retirement program is being constrained by competition from data centers, which have been paying “premium wages” to retain and attract workers, according to testimony filed by Peoples Gas. The company said the revised construction targets are not evidence that it cannot meet the 2035 retirement directive, but rather reflective of a startup year as the program onboards a new workforce and establishes new construction protocols. Early last year, the commission ordered the pause of a previous version of the pipe modernization work, effectively throwing out the approach and sending Peoples Gas back to the drawing board following a yearlong ICC investigation. The system modernization plan, as it was then called, was widely criticized for mismanagement and failure to prioritize the most at-risk pipes, leading to delays and budget shortfalls. Peoples Gas has since launched the pipe retirement program, which uses a new method to identify the most a