CENTRALIA — As Centralia residents consider a new community electricity deal, Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog wants to make sure that residents are aware of all their electricity rate options.
One option that the Citizens Utility Board supports is Ameren Illinois’ Power Smart Pricing program. Although the program has been in existence since 2007, the recent deployment of advanced electric meters has made Power Smart Pricing an even easier choice for residents.
“With the introduction of new advanced electric meters, Ameren Illinois customers have new and better ways to cut their electricity costs,” CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said. “It’s important that Ameren customers know about Power Smart Pricing so they can judge if it’s the right choice for their own family.”
Centralia’s community electricity rate is set to be 5.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in June. While that could be the right deal for a large number of residents, CUB said consumers should also consider if Power Smart Pricing is a good option for them.
Power Smart Pricing lets customers take advantage of hourly market-based electricity rates, which tend to be lower during nights and weekends. During these off-peak times, the market price of electricity can be extremely low, dipping to just a penny per kilowatt-hour.
However, most Illinois consumers can’t enjoy these lower rates because they are stuck on traditional electricity plans in which the supply rate doesn’t change for months, even years, at a time.
Customers who are willing and able to shift some of their electricity usage to off-peak times of day can join the thousands of Power Smart Pricing participants who have saved an average of 15 percent on the supply portion of their power bills.
Programs like Power Smart Pricing help reduce electricity demand at “peak times.” Reduced peak demand eases stress on the grid, helping to prevent costly power outages.
Lowering peak demand also reduces the need to fire up more expensive “peaker” power plants. The less consumers have to rely on “peaker” plants to meet electricity demand, the lower electricity rates can be for everyone.
Ameren Illinois customers interested in determining if Power Smart Pricing is right for them should call 1-877-655-6028, or visit PowerSmartPricing.org.