Peak Time Rewards Program Has March 1 Sign-up Deadline, CUB Endorses Ameren Illinois Program As 'Good For Our Power Bills'
Contact:
Jim Chilsen, [email protected], (312) 513-1784
CHICAGO, February 24, 2017— The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) on Friday alerted Ameren Illinois residential customers with new advanced electric meters that they have until Wednesday, March 1 to sign up for a no-cost program that rewards them with bill credits for delaying heavy power usage on certain days when electricity demand is high.
To sign up for Ameren Illinois’ Peak Time Rewards program, visit PeakTimeRewards.com or call 1-844-787-7874.
“Ameren Illinois’ Peak Time Rewards program is a simple, no-cost way to cut your electricity costs,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. “Everybody should be on this program. It’s good for the power grid and it’s good for our power bills.”
Ameren Illinois is in the process of installing new electric meters across its service territory—1.2 million customers—by the end of 2019. The advanced meters, which automatically record energy usage, make it possible to offer new pricing programs such as Peak Time Rewards.
Under the program, Ameren will notify participants of a “Peak Time Rewards event”—typically a few hours on a hot summer afternoon when electricity demand is expected to increase significantly. Participants who can reduce electricity use during that event will be rewarded with a bill credit for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) they save below a personal baseline. The baseline, which is different for each customer, is determined by reviewing a participant’s usage on similar days prior to the event.
Customers who choose not to reduce their power usage won’t be penalized. They simply won’t get a credit that day. However, they can participate in future peak-time events.
Last year, participants were rewarded with a credit of $1.51 per kWh saved. For the upcoming program year, the credit could be anywhere between 50 cents per kWh and $2 per kWh saved.
Peak Time Rewards is open to Ameren Illinois residential customers who have a new advanced electric meter. (The new meters have a digital face and a yellow sticker.) Commercial customers and residential customers who participate in a program called “net metering” are not eligible for Peak Time Rewards. Customers not sure of their eligibility should call a program specialist, at 1-844-787-7874.
CUB is Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, it has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB’s Consumer Hotline, 1-800-669-5556, or visit its award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.
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