Compare Illinois electricity and natural gas rates

Illinois electricity and natural gas utility service areas

Your local utility owns the delivery network, maintains meters and responds to outages. A competitive supplier, when available, supplies the energy portion of your bill. Use the maps below as a territory guide, then verify the exact service address before selecting a plan.

Illinois electric utility territories

ComEdAmeren IllinoisMidAmerican EnergyMt. Carmel Public Utility

Illinois natural gas utility territories

Compare Illinois electricity and natural gas suppliers

Illinois customers in eligible utility territories can compare competitive supply offers. These cards use the original provider marks supplied in your asset packages, not generic icons.

ConstellationElectricity & natural gas →Direct EnergyElectricity & natural gas →Think EnergyElectricity →XOOM EnergyElectricity & natural gas →CleanSky EnergyElectricity & gas →Green Mountain EnergyRenewable electricity →American Power & GasElectricity & gas →SmartEnergyElectricity →

Compare Illinois utility supply benchmarks

Utility supply prices and competitive supplier offers change over time. Use the table as a comparison framework, then confirm the current utility supply benchmark and each supplier's full contract terms before enrolling.

Buying electricity and natural gas in Illinois

Illinois energy bills separate supply from delivery. The utility remains responsible for the wires or gas mains, metering, outage response and delivery charges. In eligible territories, you can keep utility supply or choose a competitive supplier for the energy-supply portion.

Step 1: Identify your utility

Your utility is determined by the service address. Northern Illinois is largely associated with ComEd for electricity, while much of central and southern Illinois is served by Ameren Illinois. Natural gas service varies among Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Ameren Illinois and smaller utilities.

Step 2: Compare the complete plan

Look beyond the headline rate. Check the contract term, whether the price is fixed or variable, recurring monthly charges, renewable content and any early-termination rules.

Step 3: Enroll without changing delivery service

When a competitive supplier is selected, the local utility generally continues delivery and outage response. Your enrollment should clearly identify which company supplies the commodity and which utility delivers it.

What is the Illinois “price to compare”?

The useful benchmark is the utility's current supply price or default supply cost. Compare that figure against a supplier's energy rate after accounting for monthly charges and the length of the fixed-rate period. Delivery charges remain with the utility and should not be confused with the supplier's commodity charge.

How to switch Illinois energy providers

1. Confirm your service address and utility.
   Use the ZIP comparison tool to identify a likely territory, then confirm it on your current bill.
2. Choose electricity or natural gas.
   Only compare plans that are available for your actual utility account.
3. Review the plan details.
   Check rate type, term, fees, renewable content and cancellation provisions.
4. Enroll with the supplier.
   Provide the information requested by the supplier; never send payment-card information to an independent comparison site unless the site explicitly operates the transaction.
5. Watch for confirmation.
   Your utility or supplier may send confirmation showing the effective date and selected supplier.

Lower your electricity bill with community solar — check availability

Community-solar programs may allow eligible customers to receive bill credits from a shared solar project without installing panels at home. Availability depends on location, utility and program capacity.

Compare home-solar options in Illinois

Home solar marketplace

See whether rooftop solar fits your home

• Multiple installer quotes
• Compare equipment options
• Review financing choices
• No-pressure comparison

Get started

How Illinois energy choice works

Illinois separates the regulated delivery function from competitive energy supply in qualifying territories. That structure allows customers to compare alternative suppliers while continuing to receive delivery, metering and outage support from the local utility.

Competitive supply is optional. A household can remain on utility supply where applicable, or select an alternative offer when the rate structure and contract terms fit its needs.

Utilities vs. energy suppliers in Illinois

ComEdElectric delivery utility

Ameren IllinoisElectric and gas utility

Nicor GasNorthern Illinois natural gas utility

Peoples GasChicago natural gas utility

North Shore GasNorthern Chicago suburbs

MidAmerican EnergyWestern Illinois service areas

Find commercial energy plans for your Illinois business

Business energy needs can differ substantially from residential usage. Submit the basic service information below to prepare a manual quote request for eligible commercial providers.

Renewable and green energy options in Illinois

Illinois customers may encounter supplier plans marketed with renewable content, renewable-energy certificates, community-solar credits or other clean-energy features. Compare the renewable claim alongside the actual rate, contract term and monthly charges rather than treating the green label as a substitute for plan details.

Illinois energy FAQs

Reference sources used for market structure and utility-choice guidance: Illinois Commerce Commission electric and natural-gas choice resources; Illinois Energy Association gas-utility territory map. Rates shown in plan tiles are manually maintained sample data and are not represented as live utility quotes.