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Energy-efficiency programs part of rate-relief deal

Posted November 16, 2007 10:00 pm

Adriana Colindres

The state's two biggest utilities, Ameren Illinois and Commonwealth Edison, are crafting incentive programs aimed at encouraging customers to consume less electricity.

The typical Ameren residential customer would pay an extra 30 cents a month in the first year of the energy-efficiency initiative, slated to start June 1. The charge would apply to all residential customers.

But Ameren spokesman Leigh Morris said any customer who implements energy-conservation strategies should save significantly more than 30 cents a month.

The utility companies were required to submit energy-efficiency plans as part of the $1 billion electric-rate relief package that lawmakers and Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved earlier this year. The plans are subject to review by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the state's utility regulator.

Ameren and ComEd filed their energy-efficiency proposals this week with the ICC, which will conduct public hearings on them. The hearings are scheduled for Nov. 27 in Springfield, Nov. 29 in Rockford and Dec. 4 in Chicago, said ICC spokeswoman Beth Bosch.

Utility officials, state officials and others worked for months to hammer out the $1 billion rate-relief package, a response to widespread anger about the higher electric rates that kicked in this year because a long-standing freeze expired. Some consumers saw their power bills double or triple.

While some details of the energy-efficiency initiatives have yet to be revealed, here is a sampling of the proposed Ameren programs:

-- Give rebates of about $30 to customers who give up their second refrigerators, typically older appliances that consume more electricity than newer models. The refrigerators can be collected and recycled.

-- Offer still-unspecified incentives for consumers to use energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

-- Educate customers and offer still-unspecified incentives to encourage the purchase of more energy-efficient ENERGY STAR-rated appliances.

-- Encourage the use of high-efficiency light bulbs in street-light fixtures that presently have mercury vapor or incandescent bulbs.

The Com Ed proposal is similar.

"Through this comprehensive energy-efficiency plan, we will help customers save money by using less electricity without sacrificing personal comfort or safety," Stan Ogden, Ameren Illinois' vice president for customer service and public relations said in a news release.

"The plan's goal is to help lower customers' monthly electric and natural gas bills, while benefiting the environment," he added. "By using less energy at home, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and help protect our environment."

Ameren said in its ICC filing that it intends to spend a maximum of $13.8 million during the program's first year, $29 million in the second year and $44.8 million in the third year.

Ameren estimates that in the program's first year, the energy-efficiency efforts will cut electricity usage by the amount needed to power almost 7,700 single-family homes. By the end of the third year, the reduced usage would be enough to power about 46,700 homes, the company said.

David Kolata, executive director of the watchdog Citizens Utility Board, said his group still is reviewing the Ameren and Com Ed plans.

"We certainly think it's a step forward," he said, adding that the proposals should be viewed as "minimum requirements."

Also still pending before the ICC is Ameren Illinois' request for a $247 million delivery-rate increase, which would mean higher bills for all of the company's residential electricity customers and some of its natural gas customers.

The utility filed the paperwork for that plan two weeks ago. The ICC is to make a decision sometime in the next 11 months.

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.

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