The Citizens Utility Board watchdog group is opposing a rate increase sought by Ameren Illinois. David Kolata, says “after an expensive winter, this is the last thing Ameren customers want to hear.”
Ameren Illinois is seeking a more than $206 million rate hike to help pay for upgrades to its electricity power grid. The Peoria Journal Star reports that the utility filed that request on April 17th. If successful, the higher rates would go into effect in January. For residents in central Illinois, that would mean an 8.3 percent increase for average use, adding over six dollars to monthly bills.
Ameren plans to start installing new customer meters this summer. They say the upgrades will help it detect and isolate outages faster.