COLLINSVILLE, Ill.,
April 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- Ameren Illinois (NYSE: AEE) residential customers will pay
less for electric delivery service in 2018 under a plan filed today
with the Illinois Commerce Commission. The proposal would lower
monthly bills for the typical residential customer by approximately
$1.70 per month.
It's the second consecutive rate decrease the company has filed
for, and the fifth overall rate decrease proposal since the Energy
Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA) – or Smart Grid Bill – was
passed in 2011.
"Prudent cost management, solid project execution and reduced
energy supply costs have enabled us to continue modernizing the
electric grid with minimal impact on customer rates," said
Craig Nelson, senior vice president,
Regulatory Affairs and Financial Services for Ameren Illinois.
"We're pleased to report to the ICC and to our customers that
Ameren Illinois electric delivery service rates will go down next
year and our combined delivery and supply rates will remain well
below the national average."
Ameren Illinois, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE),
expects to invest an additional $128.4
million on electric grid enhancements in 2017. Those project
costs, along with other capital improvements of more than
$300 million to maintain distribution
equipment and install new technology to detect and reduce the
frequency of power outages, will be recovered in 2018.
To date, Ameren Illinois' grid modernization initiatives have
resulted in an overall 17% increase in reliability and saved
customers an estimated $45 million
each year. The company has installed 450,000 electric smart meters
at customer premises and plans to add 540,000 more of the two-way
devices through the end of 2018. Smart meters provide Ameren
Illinois customers with enhanced energy usage data and access to
programs to help them save on their energy bills.
The Ameren Illinois plan follows the passage of the Future
Energy Jobs Act, legislation to keep two nuclear facilities in
operation, preserve more than 4,000 jobs, and ensure the
availability of lower-cost clean energy for consumers. Ameren
Illinois projects that stable energy supply, along with stronger
energy efficiency programs included in the legislation, will result
in a further decrease in customer bills beginning in June of this
year.
"Illinois' progressive energy
policy is paving the way for Ameren Illinois to build a smarter
grid and deliver value to our customers in central and southern
Illinois," said Nelson.
To learn more about Ameren Illinois' electric and gas
modernization programs, visit AmerenIllinois.com/focus,
Facebook.com/AmerenIllinois, and Twitter @AmerenIllinois.
About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy
to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers in
Illinois. Our mission is to power
the quality of life. Our service territory covers more than 1,200
communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit
AmerenIllinois.com, find us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois or
Facebook.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this release not based on historical facts are
considered "forward-looking" and, accordingly, involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those discussed. Although such forward-looking statements have
been made in good faith and are based on reasonable assumptions,
there is no assurance that the expected results will be achieved.
These statements include (without limitation) statements as to
future expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives,
events, conditions, and financial performance. In connection with
the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, we are providing this cautionary statement to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated. The following factors, in
addition to those discussed within Risk Factors in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and elsewhere in this release
and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, could cause actual results to differ materially from
management expectations suggested in such forward-looking
statements:
- regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, including changes
in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations, such as those
that may result from the complaint case filed in February 2015 with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission seeking a reduction in the allowed base return on common
equity under the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
tariff and Ameren Illinois' April
2017 annual electric distribution service formula rate
update filing, and future regulatory, judicial or legislative
actions that change regulatory recovery mechanisms;
- the effect of Ameren Illinois participating in a
performance-based formula ratemaking process under the Illinois
Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act("IEIMA"), including the
direct relationship between Ameren Illinois' return on common
equity and 30-year United States Treasury bond yields, and the
related financial commitments required by the IEIMA;
- our ability to align overall spending, both operating and
capital, with frameworks established by our regulators in our
attempt to earn our allowed return on equity;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and
other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and energy
policies;
- the effects on demand for our services resulting from
technological advances, including advances in customer energy
efficiency and private generation sources, which generate
electricity at the site of consumption and are becoming more
cost-competitive;
- the effect of the Future Energy Jobs Act ("FEJA") on Ameren
Illinois, including on the allowed return earned on its customer
energy efficiency investments and its ability to achieve the
electric energy efficiency saving goals established by the
FEJA;
- the timing of increasing capital expenditure and operating
expense requirements and our ability to recover these costs in a
timely manner;
- the cost and availability of purchased power and natural gas
for distribution and the level and volatility of future market
prices for such commodities, including our ability to recover the
costs for such commodities and our customers' tolerance for the
related rate increases;
- business and economic conditions, including their impact on
interest rates, collection of our receivable balances, and demand
for our products;
- the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on
us and our customers, including the impact of system outages;
- the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery
of transmission and distribution assets;
- legal and administrative proceedings;
- the impact of cyber attacks, which could result in the loss of
operational control of energy centers and electric and natural gas
transmission and distribution systems and/or the loss of data, such
as customer data and account information; and
- acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, or other intentionally
disruptive acts.
New factors emerge from time to time. Management cannot predict
all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor
on the business or the extent to which any such factor, or
combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained or implied in any forward-looking
statement. Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be
placed on these forward-looking statements. Except to the extent
required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation
to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to
reflect new information or future events.
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SOURCE Ameren Illinois