Energy Alert – Illinois Wholesale Electricity Prices Have Increased
July 21, 2026
Market update
Since late June, wholesale electricity prices in Illinois have reached roughly three times their previous levels and early July is headed in the same direction or above. Because your account is on a variable-rate plan that follows the wholesale market in real time, these higher costs are already showing up in the supply portion of your electric bill.
Why prices increased
The increase is being driven by higher wholesale market costs during a period of extreme summer demand. Across the Midwest, extreme heat, record electricity demand, and unplanned power plant outages have put added stress on the grid, forcing operators to rely on more expensive generation and contributing to higher wholesale.
To maintain reliability during these conditions, grid operators also must secure enough available generation capacity, which adds to overall supply costs. As a result, both energy and capacity costs have moved higher.
How your rate responds
With a variable-rate product that reflects the wholesale market in real time, these market increases are already being reflected in your bill. When wholesale prices move up, your rate moves up; when wholesale prices come down, your rate can respond more quickly in that direction as well.
Our variable rate is designed to pass through market costs as they change. Our margin over the wholesale market has not changed, and these increases are not the result of any additional mark-up.
How this differs from utility pricing
Utilities recover these same market costs later, through their next rate change. In general, utilities estimate future supply costs and expected customer usage, then later “true-up” the difference between forecasted and actual costs through a future adjustment.
How you can respond
- Use our Service Match program. If you find a lower fixed rate offered by another licensed third-party energy supplier, bring us the rate along with the offer’s terms and conditions and we will match that fixed rate for you.
- Review your recent bills and contact us if you would like help understanding how your variable rate is calculated and how market changes appear on your statement.
- Take steps to reduce or shift usage away from peak hours, such as slightly raising your thermostat, delaying laundry or dishwashing, and turning off non-essential lighting and equipment.
This market movement is affecting electricity costs across the region, and Illinois has been part of that broader price volatility. The goal is to keep customers informed, explain why these increases are happening, and provide options to help manage energy costs.
MidAmerican Billing, Explained
There’s a reason every state employs hundreds of regulatory personnel to assess, verify, and audit utilities. It’s the same reason utilities employ hundreds of people to run billing, review processes, lobby, interpret regulations, automate systems, audit accounts, and collect on bills.
Utility billing is very complicated.
It’s not the fault of the utility or state. It’s the regulatory process that requires review and approval of billing based on rules, not competition.
Realgy, as an energy marketer, has reviewed and modeled utility tariffs and bills for 22 years (creating billing systems that allow for utility billing audits).
MidAmerican is a great example of this complication.
Let’s examine their tax collections.
MidAmerican Energy (MEC) is required to collect Excise Tax and County Tax from its customers. Each of these capitalized terms has a specific regulatory definition that determines the correct tax amount.
Here’s a snippet of a typical MEC bill. This example is for a customer located in Moline, Illinois, who used 2,993 kWh last month.
Here’s how these numbers are calculated:
2,000 x 0.330 = $6.60
993 x 0.319 = $3.17
=$9.77 Excise Tax
2,000 x .6283 = $12.57
993 x .4120 = $4.09
= $16.66 Municipal Tax
This seems straightforward so far. Let’s look at what variables are required for each tax.
The first variable is usage. kWh is required for both taxes.
For Excise Tax, here’s the regulation: You only require kWh, and you can see what rate ($/kWh) applies. As you can see, the more kWh you use, the lower the tax rate applied.
For County Tax, you need to know which county you’re located in and your kWh usage.
Here’s the regulation with Moline highlighted for this example. Like the Excise Tax, each county has a rate based on kWh. The more you use, the lower your effective tax rate.
Next time you look at your utility bill, remember that behind each line item are literally hundreds of people and regulations working to ensure accuracy and compliance.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer serving commercial customers in the states of Illinois, and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Realgy owns and operates 11 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations. Now 12 with the inclusion of Highland Park newest recreation center West Ridge Center – New Community Recreation Facility Coming in 2026 | Park District of Highland Park
