September 2017
Ameren, the utility for much of the HOI area, is asking the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to lower its energy efficiency goals for the next four years by 27%. If Ameren’s targets are lowered, Ameren customers in central and southern Illinois will miss out on the many benefits of energy efficiency including lower energy bills, job creation, environmental benefits and economic development. Lowering targets will also allow Ameren to collect a $36 million bonus for exceeding the now lowered targets. It’s unfair for Ameren to collect this bonus at the expense of consumers. It is also unfair for ComEd customers upstate to receive energy efficiency benefits while Ameren customers in Central and Southern Illinois get stiffed.
Just last November Ameren agreed to the energy efficiency goals it is now trying to get out of. The agreed goals were part of the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) negotiations. The FEJA legislation has been hailed as one of the most significant pieces of state energy legislation passed in the United States in decades. The FEJA energy efficiency standards were planned as performance-based incentives that financially reward utility companies for exceeding targets and impose penalties if they fall short. The new Ameren request to change its energy efficiency goals does not meet any of the annual saving targets prescribed by the FEJA statute.
Ameren Illinois has 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers in central and southern part of this state. If the company's plan is accepted, the lower target will allow Ameren to claim bonuses while spending less on efficiency programs that help customers save money, such as weatherization and rebates for high-efficiency appliances. The company’s plan would also jeopardize new jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency retrofitting and limit electricity savings for customers. Energy efficiency is a key part of helping to reduce pollution and climate change gasses. The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use thanks to energy efficiency. Energy efficiency helps!