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Retail Supplier To Exit State, Pay $8 Million Under Consent Decree
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Clearview Electric, Inc., d/b/a Clearview Energy ("Clearview Electric" or ·"Defendant") would pay about $7 million in restitution and would cease selling retail electricity and natural gas in Illinois under a Consent Decree with the Illinois Attorney General (AG) to resolve allegations from the AG that Clearview Electric, as alleged by the AG, "engaged in a pattern of unfair and deceptive marketing through which Clearview Electric and its agents defrauded Illinois Consumers by enrolling them through unlawful practices in a costly contract for electricity supply."
Clearview Energy provided the following statement concerning the matter:
"Clearview Energy has reached a settlement with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office regarding allegations of its past marketing practices. Clearview strongly denies any wrongdoing, but nevertheless, has reached an agreed upon resolution in order to put the matter behind us. Clearview Energy prides itself on ensuring our customers receive best-in-class sustainable and green solutions. We will continue to deliver on that promise to our customers."
--- Statement from Clearview Energy
As stated in the Consent Decree, Clearview Electric denies each of the AG's allegations contained in a complaint from the AG which led to the Consent Decree
The Consent Decree provides that, "Nothing contained in this Consent Decree is intended by the Parties to be deemed or construed as an admission of wrongdoing or liability by Clearview Electric or Francis X. McGovern, which Clearview Electric and Francis X. McGovern expressly deny."
Francis X. McGovern ("McGovern") serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Clearview Electric
The Consent Decree provides that, "Clearview Electric is permanently enjoined from marketing and selling electricity or gas supply in the State of Illinois."
The Consent Decree provides that Clearview Electric shall transfer its Illinois customers to default service.
The Consent Decree provides that, "Clearview Electric is barred from selling its customer accounts to any entity in lieu of its obligation to transfer all current customers to their default public utility."
"Within 30 days of transferring all Clearview Electric's customers to their default public utility, Clearview Electric shall file a petition to surrender to the Illinois Commerce Commission all of its Illinois certificates to operate as a residential alternative energy supplier, including but not limited to its residential alternative retail electric supplier and residential alternative gas supplier certificates of service," the Consent Decree provides
The Consent Decree provides that, "McGovern is permanently enjoined from owning, operating, or working for a company that is certified by the Illinois Commerce Commission as an Alternative Retail Electric Supply or Alternative Gas Supply entity in the State of Illinois (ARES or AGS)."
The Consent Decree provides that Clearview Electric shall provide approximately $7 million to provide refunds to customers and to pay settlement administration costs.
The Consent Decree provides that Clearview Electric shall pay approximately $1.3 million to an outside counsel retained by the AG which the AG has used in filing complaints against retail energy suppliers and marketers
As stated by the AG's office in a news release, the AG had alleged that, "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."
The Consent Decree states that, in the Complaint from the AG (Plaintiff), "Plaintiff alleges, and Clearview Electric denies, that from at least 2013 through 2024, Clearview Electric engaged in unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the course of trade and commerce, in violation of Sections 2 and 2EE of the Consumer Fraud Act as described herein; and has omitted key disclosures during its telephone solicitations, including failing to immediately state the purpose of the telemarketing call and obtain Consumers' consent to the solicitation at the beginning of the call, in violation of Section 15 of the Telephone Solicitations Act."
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul stated, "Companies like Clearview Energy must be held accountable for deceiving Illinois residents into overpaying for the energy they need. My office is committed to protecting consumers from deceptive practices like misrepresentations and false promises of lower prices on essential utilities."
The AG's office stated that, since the time that Raoul became Attorney General, Raoul’s office has recovered over $25 million through litigation related to retail electric suppliers' alleged, "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."
In a news release from April 2025, the AG's office had noted that the AG has settled lawsuits or investigations into 10 other retail suppliers, with additional pending actions brought against several more suppliers or marketing vendors
The AG's office has used outside counsel in such investigations and litigation.
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September 9, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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