Ameren Illinois customers have just suffered through one of the most expensive winter heating seasons in more than a decade, and now they face an $83 million electric rate-hike request. This is bad news for consumers, and it’s why we’re working to ensure the consumer-friendly rate-setting system (created by the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA) works as intended. CUB will review Ameren’s rate-hike request and fight every dollar the company can’t justify.
The “formula rate” system has not been kind to consumers over the years, but the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) is replacing it with a rate-setting system that gives the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) more authority. Illinois must take advantage of the opportunity presented by CEJA to maximize benefits for electric customers across the state.
-David Kolata, executive director, Citizens Utility Board (CUB)
BACKGROUND
- On Thursday, April 14, Ameren announced it was requesting that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) increase the utility’s delivery rates by $83,187,000.00.The ICC will rule on the case in December, and new rates would take effect on Jan. 1. 2023.
- The increase affects delivery charges—what all customers pay to have the electricity delivered to their homes. Those charges take up about a third to a half of the bill.
- This is the last time delivery rates will be set according to the state’s 2011 “Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act,” or the “smart-grid bill.” That law used a formula to determine Ameren rates annually to cover electric system upgrades.
- CUB did not support the smart-grid legislation, citing too few consumer protections. In 2021, the group helped pass the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA. The new Illinois law aims to replace formula rates with a system that gives the ICC more authority and puts more emphasis on customer priorities, such as affordability and reliability.
