CUB STATEMENT ON AMEREN'S PROPOSED $134 MILLION GAS RATE HIKE

CHICAGO, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CUB will challenge Ameren's Illinois' proposed gas rate hike. Ameren has already won $111 million in gas rate hikes since 2021, helping to plunge too many consumers across Illinois into crisis while the utility's parent company rolls in profits. And now the utility wants more. This punishing increase–which calls for hiking key delivery charges by more than 20 percent–would be a hardship for many Ameren customers. We urge the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to reduce the utility's wasteful spending and hold it accountable to its customers. The volatile gas supply price, along with Ameren's parade of delivery rate hikes, drive home the point that gas is bad for our bottom lines—in addition to our health and the climate. It is essential that Illinois begin to plan for the long-term transition away from gas to heating alternatives that are cheaper, cleaner and safer. -CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz

Background: 

• Ameren Illinois filed for a $134.4 million gas rate hike on Jan. 8 (Docket #25-0084). This request, which is actually closer to $187 million when accounting for taxes, begins an 11-month rate case before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).
• The proposed hike, according to an initial filing, would increase the customer charge by about 24 percent, to $25.16 per month, and the per-therm distribution charge by about 28 percent to 56.207 cents per therm. The utility is proposing to increase its Return on Equity (ROE), or profit rate for shareholders, from 9.44 percent to 10.7 percent.
• This increase would impact delivery rates, which take up about a third to a half of gas bills. It's what the utilities charge customers to cover the costs of delivering gas to homes— plus a profit.
• Ameren has received more than $111 million in gas rate hikes in less than five years: A $76 million hike in 2021 and a $35.2 million increase in 2023. Ameren's parent company raked in $975 million in profits over the first nine months of 2024.
• Take action against Ameren's rate-hike request: Sign our petition and file a public comment with regulators.
• There are plans and programs to assist customers who are having trouble paying their bills. We encourage consumers to contact their utility to get information about payment plans for which they may be eligible. Also, contact the Help Illinois Families call center, at 1-833-711-0374, to learn more about the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
• Ameren Illinois delivers gas to more than 800,000 customers in Illinois. The electric and gas utility covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles in Illinois.

For more than 40 years the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) has been Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog group. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-669-5556 or visit CUB's website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.

SOURCE Citizens Utility Board