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Forum: It's 'Groundhog Day' with rate hike request from a profitable Ameren
April 13, 2011 — The calendar may indicate that spring is here but customers of Ameren Illinois shouldn't be blamed if they're reminded of the movie "Groundhog Day." That's because Ameren keeps repeating efforts to raise electric rates, taking more money from customer pockets at a time when its profits are escalating.
By David Kolata, CUB Executive Director Recently, Ameren unleashed a new proposal to increase electric and gas rates by a cumulative $111 million. If it seems like just yesterday the utility sought a similarly jarring boost, that's because its prices rose by $43.7 million last year. In fact, Ameren has reaped more than $200 million in rate increases in the last four years alone. The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is prepared to contest every penny of this proposed rate hike. Unfortunately, as the Journal Star warned recently ("Don't allow utilities to write their own rate hikes," Feb. 19 editorial), another proposal pending in the state Legislature would diminish the capacity for those regulators to keep future Ameren rate hikes in check. The bill would give Ameren, as well as Chicago-based utility ComEd, license to institute automatic rate hikes whenever they say they've made commensurate improvements in the electric grid. This laissez faire approach would deprive state regulators of their existing authority to conduct a detailed review of the rate hikes before they're instituted. The current regulatory system has hardly been onerous for Ameren. The company's full-year Illinois profit surged 60 percent between 2009 and 2010, when most Illinois residents faced a struggling economy. That's why the Journal Star was right on the money to oppose this new legislation. And CUB will be fighting hard to make sure consumers get the fair deal they deserve. Tweet |