Ameren Moves To Include Price To Compare On Utility Consolidated Bills For Retail Supplier Customers

Ameren Illinois has filed at the Illinois Commerce Commission for a declaratory ruling that a proposed listing of Price to Compare information on all utility electric bills for small volume customers, including utility consolidated bills sent to customers of alternative retail electric suppliers, does not violate various rules which generally prohibit advertising, except for legitimate consumer education efforts

Specifically, Ameren Illinois seeks a declaratory ruling finding that disseminating the Price to Compare information in this manner would be a "legitimate consumer education effort" expressly authorized by the Commission Rules, rather than the types of promotion, advertising, and marketing activities in which Ameren Illinois is not permitted to engage under Part 452.

Upon such a ruling, Ameren Illinois said that it will place the following bill messages within the bill message section of the customer bills for residential accounts and commercial accounts receiving service at secondary delivery voltage under Rate DS-2 that have the premises attribute of 15,000 kWh or less annual usage (except for those on the Single Bill Option or the summary bill option).

The Specific language is as follows:

Summer Season - Residential (Rate DS-1)

Electric Supply Price to Compare: The Ameren Illinois supply price to compare is shown below. This price does not include a purchased electricity adjustment factor, a value expected to fluctuate but remain small for the foreseeable future. Learn more about the components involved in getting electricity to you as well as other electric supply topics at www.pluginillinois.org

June - September All kWh

Cents per kWh x.xxx

Non-Summer Season - Residential (Rate DS-1)

Electric Supply Price to Compare: The Ameren Illinois supply price to compare is shown below. This price does not include a purchased electricity adjustment factor, a value expected to fluctuate but remain small for the foreseeable future. Learn more about the components involved in getting electricity to you as well as other electric supply topics at www.pluginillinois.org

October - May 0-800 kWh >800 kWh

Cents per kWh x.xxx x.xxx

Small Commercial (Rate DS-2)

Electric Supply Price to Compare: The Ameren Illinois supply price to compare is shown below. This price does not include a purchased electricity adjustment factor, a value expected to fluctuate but remain small for the foreseeable future. Learn more about the components involved in getting electricity to you as well as other electric supply topics at www.pluginillinois.org

[Applicable Period of Months] All kWh

Cents per kWh x.xxx

Ameren said that, "It is Ameren Illinois' intent that the proposed bill message concerning the PTC function to even-handedly inform customers regarding their supply options. The bill message will appear on all customer bills for residential and commercial accounts receiving service at secondary delivery voltage under Rate DS-2 that have the premises attribute of 15,000 kWh or less annual usage (except for those on the Single Bill Option or the summary bill option), regardless of whether the PTC is higher or lower than the price each customer pays for supply. The bill message does not make any comparison between the PTC and the price the individual customer pays for supply, instead allowing customers to draw their own conclusions nor does the bill message make a comparison between the PTC and the value of any supply services provided (e.g. green offering product, term of contracts, gift card, etc.). It is Ameren Illinois' position that the Commission's consumer education platform is the appropriate venue for this information."

Ameren sought to start including the above bill message on bills starting in March 2019