Peoples Gas Commercial Natural Gas Service (Chicago)

Peoples Gas is the natural gas delivery utility for the City of Chicago. This guide covers how commercial gas service works within the city, where supplier choice applies, and what a Chicago business needs to price gas. For the statewide view, see commercial natural gas in Illinois.

Territory

Peoples Gas Light & Coke Company serves the City of Chicago. Just outside the city, gas service is generally Nicor Gas, and parts of Lake County and the far north suburbs are North Shore Gas. For any address near the city boundary, the utility name on the bill is the reliable confirmation.

Supply vs. delivery

On Peoples Gas utility service, the gas supply is passed through as a purchased-gas cost that adjusts over time; the delivery charge covers the utility's distribution system, metering, and applicable riders and taxes. A supplier contract prices the supply portion only. Chicago commercial bills can carry a meaningful delivery component, so a supply change moves only part of the total.

Because the commodity passes through at cost, the reason to consider a supplier is the structure and terms of the supply contract, not a markup being stripped from delivery. The delivery charges — a fixed customer charge plus volumetric distribution and rider components — stay with Peoples Gas under its tariff regardless of supplier, so any claimed difference should be measured against the supply line only, not the whole bill.

How to read a Peoples Gas commercial bill

A Peoples Gas commercial bill separates into groups: an account and meter block (service address, account number, rate class, meter, billing period); a usage block (therms for the period); a supply block (the purchased-gas cost, or a supplier's supply charge if enrolled); and a delivery and other block (customer charge, distribution, riders, and taxes). Sorting line items into those groups before comparing offers makes clear which charges a supplier can influence and which are fixed by tariff. The commercial natural gas bill walkthrough follows the same structure in detail.

Commercial supplier choice

Through the Choices for You program, eligible Chicago commercial customers can buy gas supply from a licensed alternative gas supplier while Peoples Gas continues delivery and emergency service. Evaluate any offer with the same procurement and contract review discipline used for electricity — matched terms, included components, and renewal language, not headline price alone. In practice that means lining up the pricing structure (fixed, index, or blended), the term and renewal language, how usage bandwidth or swing is treated given strong winter seasonality, any account or monthly fees, and termination provisions before weighing the commodity rate. The Illinois Commerce Commission licenses and lists the alternative gas suppliers authorized to serve Illinois, which is the authoritative place to verify a supplier.

What a Peoples Gas commercial quote requires

• A recent Peoples Gas bill and account number.
• The service address (to confirm city territory) and rate class.
• 12 months of therm usage, given strong winter seasonality.
• The current supply contract's end date, if applicable.

Confirm the territory from the bill

For any facility near the city limits, the utility name on a recent bill settles whether service is Peoples Gas or a neighboring utility. Peoples Gas is the City of Chicago; just outside the city, service is generally Nicor Gas, and parts of Lake County and the far north suburbs are North Shore Gas. The bill also confirms the rate class and account number a quote depends on. For the statewide view, see commercial natural gas in Illinois.

Delivery, outages, and emergencies

Peoples Gas remains the delivery utility and the emergency contact regardless of any supply arrangement. It owns and maintains the distribution system and meter, delivers the gas, and responds to leaks and emergencies; a supplier or broker does not perform that work. If a Chicago business is weighing a supplier, that division is the anchor: the safety, reliability, and restoration relationship stays with Peoples Gas, while the supplier decision is confined to the commodity portion and its contract terms. Keeping the two separate prevents the common mistake of crediting a supplier for service that never leaves the utility.

Sources

• Peoples Gas — Delivery (Chicago service)
• Peoples Gas — Choices for You (supplier choice)
• Illinois Commerce Commission — Natural Gas Utility authority

Time-sensitive rate and program details should be confirmed against the Peoples Gas current pages and a recent bill.