CUB to appeal Ameren rate hike

[January 11, 2012]  CHICAGO (PR Newswire) -- The Citizens Utility Board plans to appeal an Illinois Commerce Commission ruling Tuesday that granted Ameren a natural gas rate increase. While CUB is still crunching the numbers, the ICC ruled in favor of a rate hike greater than an administrative law judge's recommendation of a $30 million increase.

The ruling Tuesday is a mixed bag for consumers. While the rate hike looks to be less than the company's original $51 million request, CUB is disappointed that it's still more than Ameren needed or deserved. This increase hits customers in the heart of the winter heating season and threatens to wipe out potential savings thanks to a mild winter. While customers struggle with a tough economy, Ameren's parent company announced third-quarter earnings of $381 million. CUB says this is the worst possible time for a rate hike, and the organization looks forward to fighting it on appeal.

In February 2011, Ameren filed for a $111 million electric and natural gas rate hike. In January, the company dropped the electric portion of its rate-hike request but continued to push for a $51 million natural gas increase.

These "delivery" rate hikes increase what Ameren charges to deliver gas to homes. Those charges take up about a third of a bill. The other two-thirds, roughly, is taken up by the price of the gas itself.

CUB is Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog organization. It was created by the Illinois Legislature in 1983 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $10 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-669-5556.

For money-saving advice and consumer tips, visit http://www.citizensutilityboard.org/.

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Source: Citizens Utility Board

[Text from PR Newswire news release]