Peoples Gas managers and executives are childish. After I yelled at them for pulling a variety of BS on me, they decided to be vindictive and harass me through the mail for years. It got so bad that the actual U.S. Postal Service is who made them stop. I still have a box full of fake bills and shut off warnings that I never should have received. They now think a solution is for you to report your income to them so they can decide how much you should pay. These are sick people. It's none of their business how much money anyone makes. That's not how you price a commodity. Charge me for MY gas USAGE and mind your own business. Fund your construction projects by issuing shares for cash. Make your money back afterward. That is how you fund YOUR business...

"Nicor, Peoples Gas propose income-based utility rates alongside record-setting rate-hike requests":
January 19, 2023
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/utilities/peoples-gas-nicor-propose-income-based-utility-rates

To clarify, Peoples Gas did shut off my account when I didn't owe them any money a few years ago. They turned it right back on and I still have two account numbers to this day. ComEd appears to be even worse in that regard, but they haven't pulled that on me...

"Utility shutoffs for nonpayment soar across Illinois and the Chicago area":
Jan 30, 2023

"Opinion: The exit strategy from gas for heating and cooking should start now":
February 01, 2023

Upcoming case...

Peoples Gas started messing with me years ago. They started by harassing me over some tiny bill for a person who has never lived at my address. No matter how many times I called to explain to them that no one around here had ever heard of the person, they just kept sending shut off threats and all kinds of neon stickers and crap for two years or more, all while I didn't owe them any money at all. I still have every letter with my address but the other person's name. That experience prompted me to start analyzing the billing, and wow, they really do just legally steal from people. No two ways about that. Just sell me the gas that I need to use and bother someone else for project funding. If Peoples Gas threw a Fund Raiser while having record profits and plenty of access to loans and issuable shares, how many people do you think would show up to donate their money to "the cause"?

Good eye. I honestly hadn't checked quantitatively when I made that comment comparing the two companies and was only speaking from personal dealings with them both. I've had issues with ComEd(Exelon) as well, and they are on the same kind of thirsty nonsense. Chicagoans are getting squeezed from all angles. The automated speeding tickets are getting crazy too. $35 for going 26mph on a major street? I got one of those in the mail the other day, ugh...

"ComEd seeks record-high $1.5 billion rate hike over next 4 years":
Jan 17, 2023
https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/2023/1/17/23559026/comed-rate-hike-1-billion-chicago-electric-bills-commerce

https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/?company_op=starts&company=Exelon&offense_group=&agency_code=

Correction...Installed new blower motor two months ago not two years ago. This is the winter that my heating costs should go down, which would be a first in many years. Fingers crossed. This December cost me 12 bucks more than last December, but that's for only 3 weeks of gas instead of 4, so not off to a great start.

I'll get this January's bill in February. Let's see how it goes. Hopefully, it will stay under $200. I'm aiming for much lower, but we will see. My furnace was off for the last week of December, and my gas bill was still close to $150 for 3 weeks. Now the furnace has been cleaned inside and out, tightened up, and runs quieter than ever. I installed a new blower motor two years ago. New ignition coil 3 years ago. The joint is weatherized. If this next bill is another record high bill, I'm going to run for President.

During Jan and Feb last year, and after including all charges, I paid around a $1.50 per therm. Problem is in April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November I pay more like $8-$9 dollars per therm because they inject such large bullshit charges that have nothing to do with delivering gas to me. Never a break from their greed.

If you turn off all of your gas appliances for a whole month, you will still owe them $60+ for the month, simply because they have your information on file and have been allowed by the state to charge you flat fees to fund their future construction projects that will not benefit you at all. Simply put, it's legal theft...and yet somehow the revenue STILL isn't enough for them.

I bet there is an epic level evil super villain amount of embezzlement going on inside Peoples Gas...

The title of that article is bullshit. It says Peoples Gas seeks the first rate hike in 8 years, but I can tell you my gas bill has more than doubled in just the past 3 years. 3 years ago, my gas bill was $100 for a serious January, now it is $200, and that's after massive weatherization by me with caulk, weather stripping, water heater insulation, you name it. Peoples Gas is a fraudulent company. It is a criminal organization powered by dirty government deals.

"Peoples Gas Seeks First Rate Hike in 8 Years. Here's How Much Your Bill Could Rise By
If approved, the rate hike would take effect in 2024."
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/peoples-gas-seeks-first-rate-hike-in-8-years-heres-how-much-your-bill-could-rise-by/3038977/

SCAMMERS..."Peoples Gas seeks record $402 million rate hike next year":
Jan 6, 2023
https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/2023/1/6/23542395/peoples-gas-rate-hike-request-illinois-commerce-commission-energy

They already have us paying the highest gas bills ever.

"Penalty total since 2000: $1,022,510,166"
https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/wec-energy-group

"WEC Energy Accused of Mismanaging $1.8 Billion 401(k) Plan (1)":
May 10, 2022
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/class-action/wec-energy-accused-of-mismanaging-1-8-billion-401k-plan

Put 3 and 3 together and you can clearly see that the state of Illinois, or at least it's current captors, are also well informed, and in on the scam.

Put 2 and 2 together and you can easily see that the eternal pipeline project is just a money pit meant to bleed customers as much as possible before they rid themselves of these predators. Mark my words, the project will be abandoned at some point, and they already know this, which is why they won't just borrow the money that they say they need.
FRAUD. SCAM.

ComEd may not be perfect, but they're way better than the Peoples Gas clowns. Soon to be never again...

Exelon is coming for your ass WEC.

Think about that. $40mil to never have to deal with them or their scam ridden project for 2080. Count me in. These guys are a scam. Way cheaper to throw them into a volcano than keep them around. Millions in cost vs Billions in cost. Easy math.

Uh oh..."ComEd to spend $40 million on plan to rid homes of natural gas":
Dec 14, 2022
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/12/14/23509594/comed-to-spend-40-million-on-plan-to-rid-homes-of-natural-gas

The most obvious way to cut these clowns out of their scam is to just go all electric, which much of Chicago is doing now:)

"ComEd to spend $40 million on plan to rid homes of natural gas":
Dec 14, 2022
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/12/14/23509594/comed-to-spend-40-million-on-plan-to-rid-homes-of-natural-gas

They need to drop the obligatory $35 per month "customer charge" completely. They need to reduce the infrastructure and delivery costs, each currently around $15 per month. And they need to issue some shares for cash to fund their own business. That ~$65 plus taxes etc.(~$75 total) is the minimum you could ever pay per month for using ZERO THERMS.

WEC owns Peoples Gas, and benefits from their record net profits(due to illegal fees), and so they are responsible for their costs as well. Customers do not have to pay for your future construction projects that have nothing to do with their own gas delivery right now. You all want people to crowd fund your ability to expand your business. SCAM SCAM SCAM. You or your subsidiary will be paying people some money back soon.

No customer should have to pay $75-$100 per month in May, June, July, August, September to just have a water heater connected. That is pure theft. New lawsuits coming.

I'm going to start working with a local reporter on this WEC-Peoples Gas-ICC story. I have some old buddies over at WGN news.

Dump em hard. Dump em good. Dump em like you know you should. WEC=SCAM

They want to steal from my community? Then I will steal from their shareholders. Do not worry. I will be here WEC. I never ever leave anything unfinished. It's just how I am. Unfinished projects are a pet peeve of mine.

Takes an epic loser to invest in this shit instead of shorting it into oblivion..."Peoples Gas charged customers 10 times more than it was supposed to":
JULY 2, 2021
https://pirg.org/illinois/updates/peoples-gas-charged-customers-10-times-more-than-it-was-supposed-to/

Illinois Commerce Commission will be held accountable as well. They will not go unpunished for enabling the scam.

Can the scam be any more obvious?...You gotta wonder what changed and made the illegal charges suddenly legal...SCAM! FRAUD!

"Extra Peoples Gas charge ruled illegal":
October 3, 2011

Same shit different year...

"Peoples accused of `massive fraud'":
Mar 22, 2005
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-03-22-0503220207-story.html

"Peoples Gas agrees to pay $18.5 million for misleading consumers":
May 11, 2016
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-peoples-gas-settlement-0511-biz-20160510-story.html

Look at all the free stock that is gifted and then sold. These scammers need a BIG Federal Lawsuit and some street justice...

I wonder how many Pritzkers are invested in WEC. "Pritzker"? Hmmm. Is that Bolshevik?...
https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=pritzker#:~:text=Pritzker%20Family%20History-,Pritzker%20Name%20Meaning,someone%20from%20Pritski%20in%20Ukraine.

I can't believe people invest in this kind of shit when it's clearly a scam. As soon as we start making things very uncomfortable, the freebies will end. Then we will get our money back. Mark it!

Nice company huh?..."llinois Residents Sue Peoples Gas, Subsidiary of WEC, for Contaminating East Central Illinois’ Major Source of Water, According to FeganScott Law Firm":
March 03, 2022
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220303006041/en/Illinois-Residents-Sue-Peoples-Gas-Subsidiary-of-WEC-for-Contaminating-East-Central-Illinois%E2%80%99-Major-Source-of-Water-According-to-FeganScott-Law-Firm

SCAM-"Late fees help drive record-breaking year at Peoples Gas":

SCAM-"Utility watchdog dozes while Peoples Gas slams customers with more than $600 million in surcharges"
June 02, 2022

WEC is one of the worst scams around. They own Peoples Gas, the oldest company in Chicago. Peoples Gas and the Illinois Commerce Commission have colluded to land Peoples Gas a super sweet deal disproportionately funded by the people in Chicago who use the least gas.

Even if you turn off all your gas appliances and use ZERO therms, you will still have to pay a minimum of $65 per month for NOTHING. Your bill will be summed up as a "customer charge" of over $35 and a qualified infrastructure plant charge of over $15. Then you have various other little charges and taxes...all before you've used a single therm. Then start actually using gas and watch your bill jump to $200 per month for running a single furnace and water heater. Even in July, with 100 degree days, it costs customers $75 per month to take cooler than room temperature showers just because you have an active account.

Peoples Gas and the ICC have struck this deal in an obvious effort to rob citizens for the benefit of a for-profit publicly traded company that could simply issue shares or find more investors if they needed to raise cash. Maybe they could even take out a loan from a bank(rolls eyes). They say they need funding for future construction, and they need the citizens of Chicago to provide that money in advance without getting paid back. "We're all in this together." They say.

Anyone with even the slightest arithmetic ability and integrity would have made any "fund raising charges" for "future projects" into a percentage based on gas usage, not a flat fee that disproportionately robs those who use the least gas. This deal will not last forever, as the pitch forks and torches are starting to come out. I personally know many people who are very very sick of being overcharged. WEC needs to give up the scam or they will lose much more than they've gained.

WEC Energy Group announces plan to increase dividend by 7 percent

1:29 pm ET December 5, 2019 (PR Newswire) Print


The board of directors of WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today announced that it is planning to raise the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock to 63.25 cents per share in the first quarter of 2020. This would represent an increase of 4.25 cents per share.

The directors expect to declare the new dividend at their regularly scheduled meeting in January. The dividend - which would be equivalent to an annual rate of $2.53 per share - would be payable March 1, 2020, to stockholders of record on Feb. 14, 2020.

"The board's review today is consistent with our ongoing plan to target a dividend payout ratio of 65 to 70 percent of earnings," said Gale Klappa, executive chairman.

The projected dividend growth for 2020 is in line with the company's longer-term objective to grow earnings per share at a 5 to 7 percent average annual rate.

In addition, the company introduced earnings guidance for 2020. Calendar year 2020 earnings are expected to be in a range of $3.71 to $3.75 per share.

Well Tim,,,I only follow the ticker because it's in my screen of holdings in my Think or Swim platform,,,lol.

I bought WEC in 1996 at 30, and again on the pullback to 15 way back when,,,lol.

I have it as a DRIP program so I basically don't trade it at all, except to add to my holdings.

That split in 2010 was a nice boost.

I was also looking for another possible split last year when we got up to near 66 area.

As the price gets lower, I tend to increase my alotted $$$ to get the biggest bang for my buck.

Klappa has been doing such a great job, I hope he lives forever,,,lol.

Back when I initially purchased shares, they were in a bit of turmoil with a failed buyout of Northern States Power in 1995, which caused the pullback to $15 area.

But it wasn't to long after that Gale Klappa came into power and IMO turned the company around.

My general theme is to do a transfer of funds for every pullback into what I perceive as a support level in the stock.
Then, of course, my dividends buy additional shares once a quarter.

I never sell, don't need to, and I don't take any dividend payments.

Everything gets plowed back in.

Sorry for being so wordy,,,lol.

The next person to cash this in will be my daughter or granddaughter.

4) A stock price in the low $50s (versus $58 today) would push WEC’s yield up to 4%, which would represent a seemingly attractive investment opportunity considering the stock’s stability (WEC’s beta of 0.04 means WEC has historically been 96% less volatile relative to the S&P 500) and long-term total return potential.

3) WEC Energy’s valuation doesn’t seem totally unreasonable today, but it’s not exactly a bargain either. Perhaps if U.S. interest rates rise three times in 2017 like the Federal Reserve is predicting, then utilities as a whole will finally experience a meaningful pullback.

2) Assuming the company’s earnings compound by 5% to 7% annually as management expects, WEC’s stock offers annual total return potential of about 8% to 11% (3.6% dividend yield plus 5% to 7% annual earnings growth).

$WEC holding and bullish. Caveats however: When it comes to what matters most, a safe and growing yield, WEC Energy may not be as overvalued as it initially appears, especially given that the company’s long-term earnings growth rate is higher than most utilities' growth profiles.

Tim,,,I know the post I'm referring to is over 6 months old, however, was curious if you are in WEC presently and are you a longterm or shortterm investor.

Looks like they had another decent qtr/yr since the Integrys acquisition.

I've been long WEC since 1996 and it has treated me very, very, very, well.

Tkx,
Dab

WEC Energy (WEC +2.1%) is upgraded to Outperform from Neutral with a $54 price target, raised from $50, at Baird, which says the combination with Integrys (NYSE:TEG) should fuel attractive long-term total returns reflecting accelerated infrastructure investment opportunities that should support above-average EPS and dividend compound annual growth of 5%-7%.

Wisconsin Energy's (NYSE:WEC) planned acquisition of Integrys Energy (NYSE:TEG) wins approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission, the final regulatory decision needed to complete the $9.1B takeover.

Wisconsin's Public Service Commission gives formal approval for Wisconsin Energy's (NYSE:WEC) $9.1B acquisition of Integrys (NYSE:TEG), with some conditions.