Electricity and natural gas company Ameren filed a request with the Illinois Commerce Commission on Jan. 8 for a $134.4 million increase to its natural gas rates in Illinois.
If the ICC approves the proposed rate hike, the cost of natural gas would increase, on average, approximately $9.09 per month for delivery service. This would represent about 11.9% on a total bill basis.
The increase would take effect by December, according to Ellie Leonard, public relations strategist at Ameren. Currently, Ameren delivers gas to more than 800,000 customers in Illinois.
This filing received pushback from the Citizens Utility Board, which challenged the request by launching an 11-month rate case with the ICC. CUB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer watchdog group whose mission is to help people reduce their utility bills.
Over the next 11 months, Ameren, CUB and the Illinois Attorney General’s office will share testimony and other documents to make their cases, said Jim Chilsen, CUB’s director of community communications.
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“We think that there is going to be hardship for Illinois consumers who already are dealing with escalating utility bills,” Chilsen said. “That’s why we’re going to challenge this rate hike and try to reduce it as much as possible.”
Ameren proposed the increase to raise shareholder profits from about 9.4% to 10.7%, according to Chilsen, who called this “outrageous.”
If the price increase is approved, it will be the third gas-rate hike Ameren has petitioned for since 2021. According to Chilsen, the ICC approves rate increases for Ameren and other companies. However, the commission has a history of acknowledging consumer hardship.
“Each case is different, and it really depends on the evidence,” Chilsen said. “We’ve seen (in the past) that (the ICC) has been sensitive to the fact that consumers are having a hard time making ends meet and that they need to ensure that these utility rate hikes profoundly impact people.”
In response to allegations of gas rate increase being unfair to consumers, Ameren allocated an estimated $226 million of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The funding is expected to be available to qualified utility customers statewide later this year, Leonard said.
“Many Americans are facing challenging times, and no one wants to see rising energy bills,” said Matthew Tomc, Ameren’s vice president of regulatory policy and energy supply. “As the recent cold snap illustrates, the safety and vitality of our communities depends on our ability to deliver natural gas on the coldest of days without interruption. Our plan requests the resources we will need to upgrade and maintain our critical energy infrastructure.”
The ICC will consider whether infrastructure improvements are necessary while weighing the effects on consumer finances. A decision on the proposed rate increase is expected by December.
