West Central Reporter

Ameren has been receiving backlash and critics are lining up to seek relief from steadily increasing electric utility bills.

“Someone in the state government of Illinois needs to open an investigation into Ameren Illinois,” Macomb resident Michael Eddy said on Facebook. “Not one industry has tripled their prices in the past year, yet Ameren Illinois has doubled/tripled & we don’t have an option to shop for new service. One year ago this bill was around $300, today $812. And this winter hasn’t even been that cold. We are all getting ripped off.” 

Downstate legislators gathered earlier this week to address the issue. State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) said the situation in downstate Illinois is dire.

“Last week in Kincaid, Illinois, an entire grocery store went out of business because they couldn't pay the power bill for their coolers,” Rose said in a press conference, according to Chambana Sun. “That community is without a grocery store and I think Rep. (Dave) Severin, when he talks, he's got the exact same thing happen in his district, a different place. So this is a significant crisis. It is a serious crisis. Families cannot afford what is happening to them.”

State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) is pushing a legislative fix. She is sponsoring two bills meant to resolve the crisis. Senate Bill 1548 would cut regulations barring new power plants from coming online. Senate Bill 1547 would create the Power Grid Task Force which will set up a team of lawmakers to inspect the state’s energy policy and the effects it is having on ratepayers, according to Quicy Reporter. 

“Ameren Illinois, the electric utility in Central and Southern Illinois, is only responsible for delivery and not supply," the Citizens Utility Board reported earlier this year. "Thus, it does not profit off the supply portion of bills – Ameren simply passes along what they pay for supply, with no markup.”

The current Ameren electric rate is 116% higher than last year.

The rate increase led the CUB to note this winter could be the costliest in history for Ameren customers. The typical Ameren Illinois residential customer has seen a $626 annual increase in their power bill. 

“Higher energy prices (electricity and natural gas) will continue to impact monthly utility bills into the winter heating season. The causes are varied but include a tight supply/demand balance, record low coal inventories and high coal prices driving increased natural gas power generation, and a rise in U.S. natural gas consumption compared to 2021,” Ameren said in June 2022 when prices started rising. “We know this is frustrating for our customers; it's frustrating for us at Ameren Illinois, too. Many people are facing challenging times, and no one wants to see higher energy bills.”

Former gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey blames the high energy rates on the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which passed in 2021. The act seeks to off-line all fossil fuel plants in favor of renewable energy.

“JB Pritzker’s energy policies are a little more than impractical virtue signals and cannot succeed with the speed of his promises,” Bailey said at an agriculture forum in 2022, Capitol News Illinois reported. “We all want a clear plan, but JB has bet the farm, he’s bet our farms, and he’s thrown snake eyes every time.”