05/31/2015
Look out Ameren Illinois Electricity users. Rates are set to go up.
Ambit Energy is a great alternative. My website is www.jsgarns.myambit.com .
Ameren Illinois files for rate increase
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May 08, 2015 5:15 pm • By Jacob Barker14
Ameren's headquarters located at 1901 Chouteau Ave., seen here in 2007. (Post-Dispatch file photo by Brittanie Williams)
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Illinois regulators approve Ameren Illinois rate increase
The $137 million increase is meant to reimburse the utility for investments in the electric distribution system. Read more
Ameren Illinois asks for higher natural gas delivery charges
If regulators approve, bills would rise between $3 and $6 per month. Read more
Metro East faces higher electricity prices
Price for a component in overall electricity rates skyrocketed in auction Read more
Ameren Illinois has filed its annual rate update, asking state regulators to increase delivery charges on the utility’s downstate Illinois customers by $110 million.
The rate increase request is part of Illinois’ formula ratemaking process that determines electricity delivery rates based on a state formula. The 2011 law required Illinois utilities to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the state’s electric infrastructure in return for more certainty in rate adjustments.
Some Metro East customers could see their total bills rise as much as 8.2 percent, on average, or about $6.90 per month. Other Metro East customers would see a smaller hike of about 2.7 percent, or $2.40 per month. Ameren Illinois estimated the average increases based on a household that uses 833 kilowatt hours a month.
Customers on Ameren Illinois “Zone 3” rates, which include Edwardsville, Collinsville, Fairview Heights, Granite City, Wood River and Shiloh, are facing the smaller increase.
Ratepayers on “Zone 1” rates, including residents of East St. Louis, Alton, Belleville and Fairmont City, are in line for the larger rate increase.
Electricity is deregulated in Illinois, meaning customers can shop for power from multiple providers. Ameren Illinois is regulated but only charges for delivering the power through the wires, a charge that makes up about 45 percent of a customer’s bill.
The Illinois Commerce Commission is expected to decide the case in December, with new rates taking effect in January.
Regulators just granted a similar increase to Ameren Illinois in December, allowing a formula-rate increase of $137 million. Ameren had requested a $206-million hike last year.
Illinois customers could continue seeing frequent rate increases under the formula ratemaking law. Last month, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a bill that extended formula ratemaking by two years. The program would have faced a review at the end of 2017 but now will remain in place through 2019.
Illinois legislators, which passed the bill in December, used a parliamentary maneuver to avoid former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto by waiting until Quinn left office to send the bill to the state executive, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Beyond formula ratemaking, Ameren Illinois customers face energy price increases from other sources.
Natural gas delivery charges for Ameren Illinois customers could also be going up by early 2016. In January, Ameren filed a $53 million rate increase with regulators that could push average monthly bills up by between $3 and $6.
Power prices, too, might increase. Last month, a component of electricity prices for downstate Illinois residents soared following an auction by the grid manger. That could raise the cost of power 10 percent for some Ameren Illinois customers who hadn’t already locked in electricity prices.
The quick jump drew scrutiny from state lawmakers, consumer advocates and the Illinois attorney general. Ameren Illinois also criticized the auction results and said it would work “to resolve this inequity to our customers.”
The higher auction price benefits power generators such as Dynegy Inc., which owns many of the coal plants in downstate Illinois, and Exelon Corp., which operates one nuclear plant in Ameren Illinois territory.
