Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced an $8.4 million settlement with Clearview Electric Inc. (Clearview Energy) that resolves allegations the alternative retail electric supplier (ARES) engaged in fraudulent, unfair and deceptive business practices to mislead Illinois consumers into paying millions of dollars more for electricity than consumers who stayed with their default public utility.

The settlement will provide restitution to eligible Illinois customers who received residential electricity supply services from Clearview Energy. The restitution amounts will largely be based upon eligible customers’ electricity usage during the period in which they purchased electricity from Clearview Energy.

“Companies like Clearview Energy must be held accountable for deceiving Illinois residents into overpaying for the energy they need,” Raoul said. “My office is committed to protecting consumers from deceptive practices like misrepresentations and false promises of lower prices on essential utilities.”

The Attorney General’s office filed a complaint alleging that Clearview Energy violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and the Illinois Telephone Solicitations Act by deceptively enrolling consumers in Clearview Energy services without authorization, at a considerably higher rate than the local public utility, and in some cases without consumers having any contact with Clearview’s representatives.

In addition to restitution, Attorney General Raoul’s office obtained a permanent ban on Clearview marketing and selling electricity and gas in Illinois. 

Raoul’s lawsuit and settlement are the latest actions Raoul has taken to protect Illinois residents from deceptive practices by alternative energy suppliers and their third-party vendors. Since becoming Attorney General, Raoul’s office has recovered over $25 million through litigation related to ARES’ fraudulent and unfair business practices that deceived Illinois customers into paying millions of dollars more for electricity than consumers who stayed with their default public utilities. 

Most recently, Raoul announced a lawsuit against Spark Energy LLC and Spark Energy Gas in January for allegedly using deceptive business practices to mislead Illinois consumers into paying millions of dollars more for electricity. This followed a similar lawsuit filed in May 2024 against Southeast Energy Consultants LLC, a third-party vendor working on behalf of several ARES, alleging customers were deceived into switching to more expensive ARES contracts. 

Attorney General Raoul also initiated the Home Energy Affordability and Transparency (HEAT) Act, which strengthens oversight of alternative energy suppliers and protects consumers from bad supplier contracts. The HEAT Act went into effect in January 2020 and gave the Attorney General’s office stronger tools to shut down suppliers that engage in fraudulent and misleading conduct and to return money to consumers who have been harmed.

Consumer Protection Division Chief Susan Ellis, Consumer Fraud Bureau Chiefs Greg Grzeskiewicz and Elizabeth Blackson, and Public Interest Counsel Darren Kinkead are handling the case for Raoul’s office. Illinois-based law firms Edelson PC; Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd.; and Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C. are also assisting with the case.