Ameren Proposes Peak Time Rebate Program Open to Default Service, Competitive Supply Customers

Ameren has sought approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission for a Peak Time Rebate (PTR) program to be available to all residential customers with advanced metering, regardless of electricity supplier.

The Peak Time Rebate will pay customers a per-kWh credit for reductions versus a customer baseline during called events.

Specifically, Ameren said that the Peak Time Rebate program will be available to all residential customers with AMI meters on a competitively neutral basis, meaning that the customer must be receiving electric power and energy supply from Ameren or a Retail Electric Service Provider (RES).

However, because Ameren is obligated to avoid double counting of demand resources in the MISO market, customers already enrolled in a demand response program offered by their retail electric supplier will not be allowed to enroll in Rider PTR.

To facilitate this prohibition, Ameren proposed to revise its Supplier Terms and Conditions, Sheet No. 5.040, to include language that requires a retail supplier to inform Ameren of any customers participating in a MISO-coordinated electric demand response or energy curtailment program. Similarly, Ameren will identify to a retail supplier any service point supplied by such retail supplier that is participating in, plans to participate in, or plans to cease participating in, Rider PTR.

Ameren noted that pursuant to statute, it is required to provide, upon request, to any customer or to a retail supplier acting as the agent for a customer, the customer's billing and usage data. However, that same section prohibits Ameren from providing any customer-specific billing, usage, or load shape data without customer authorization.

In the context of the PTR Program, there may be occasions where a customer's retail supplier may inquire as to whether its customer has elected to participate in the program (access to such information on the website is only available to an ARES that knows the confidential customer identification number of the customer.)

To address this issue, Ameren proposes that when the customer agrees to retail supplier service, the customer agrees that should its retail supplier inquire as to whether the customer is taking PTR service, that Ameren will be permitted to share that information with the retail supplier as it would any other billing or usage information. As filed, Rider PTR explicitly authorizes Ameren Illinois to provide information to the retail supplier by virtue of enrolling for service under the PTR Program.

Rider PTR service will begin operating coincident with the MISO planning year beginning June 1, 2016.

Enrollment can occur electronically through the Ameren Illinois website, or through other means of communication.

Rider PTR participants that elect to curtail usage during a Curtailment Period will receive a credit per kWh of an amount established annually prior to the beginning of the MISO planning year in an Informational Sheet filed with the Commission. The value will be established by dividing total funds from the MISO Programs by the total amount of estimated kWh reduction from all participants that are enrolled for the planning year. The credit will not be less than $0.50 per kWh.

Any differences between the amounts paid to participating PTR customers and compensation received from MISO in a given program year will be tracked and carried over into subsequent program years. The amount carried over will be included in the calculation of the PTR credit established for the next MISO planning year.

Ameren Illinois will recover the costs of startup and administration of the PTR program from all residential customers through delivery service rates.

Docket: 13-0105