Blog

If you’re an Ameren customer, registering for online access with your utility has its benefits. You can easily make payments, update your contact information, access account information, view your current and previous bills and review your usage history. 

To sign up for Ameren online access, visit this webpage. You’ll most likely need:

• Your utility account number;
• An email address you check regularly;
• Your primary phone number (the number you provided when starting your service); and
• The last 4 digits of the primary account holder’s Social Security number.

Once you’re signed up, you’ll be able to check out CUB’s favorite consumer-friendly features on Ameren’s online customer platform:

1. Pay your bill online. This way, you can set up automatic billing and never miss a payment. You can choose to help out the environment and go paperless with your billing. The customer portal allows you to access current and old bills, so you don’t have to mess with a pile of papers. You can even pick which day of the month you’d like to pay your bill, to make payments easier and more convenient for you and your wallet.
2. Visit the Outage Center. This tool provides you with the information you need to report an outage, file a claim and prepare for future storms. You can also sign up for outage alerts (see number 4).
3. Start, stop and transfer service. If you’re moving or need to stop service for any reason, complete your utility-related tasks through the online portal instead of sitting on hold with customer support. To start or stop service, or transfer your service to a new address in Ameren territory, you’ll need the following information:
   1. Name
   2. Full service address
   3. Social Security Number
   4. Date of service request (when you want your service to start/end)
4. Sign up for alerts and notifications. When you set up Ameren Alerts, you get important information straight to the palm of your hand. On your online Account Dashboard, you can sign up for some or all of these alerts:

• • Outage alerts – You’ll receive a notification when power may be off in your area as well as estimated restoration updates, the cause of the outage and power restoration confirmation. You can also text OUT to AMEREN (263736) to report an outage or STAT to check the status of power at your address.
  • Bill reminders – You can receive bill due date and past due reminders.
  • Important account status updates – You can choose to receive an alert when immediate action is needed on your account.
  • Weekly cost summary – You can receive weekly alerts that include bill estimates based on your usage for your current billing cycle.
  • Cost threshold – Receive an alert when your energy costs exceed the threshold you’ve established for your account.  
  • Usage Threshold – Receive an alert when your usage exceeds the threshold you’ve established for your account.

5. Peak Time Rewards. Peak Time Rewards is an Ameren offering that allows consumers to take advantage of their digital meters. The program rewards participants with bill credits when they reduce electricity use during certain “peak” savings events, usually hot summer afternoons when electricity demand is highest. This is the easiest demand response program available to Ameren customers, and CUB recommends it to almost anybody. 

6. Power Smart Pricing. Similar to Peak Time Rewards, Power Smart Pricing is a supply rate program for residential electric customers where the price you pay for electricity varies hour by hour based on actual market prices. Your bill is calculated using the hourly market prices and your corresponding hourly usage. With Power Smart Pricing, you can manage your electricity costs by using energy wisely during hours when prices are higher and move your heavy electricity usage to hours when power is lower, such as early mornings or late evenings. (Note: You can participate in both Peak Time Rewards and Power Smart Pricing.)

7. Understand your bill. Ameren’s Understanding Your Bill tool provides information to help you decode your utility bill, an often confusing document. There are diagrams breaking down the different parts of your bill, sample bills to review and even a glossary that helps define utility lingo you may see on your bill.