SPRINGFIELD - Ameren’s three Illinois utility companies are proposing a new version of a plan to phase in the double-digit electric rate hikes scheduled to take effect next month.

 

At present, the average Ameren residential customer faces an increase of up to 55 percent starting Jan. 2, according to the company.

 

But Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office claimed Thursday that Ameren customers’ residential bills actually are poised to rise anywhere from 28 percent to 99 percent.

 

Ameren’s revamped Customer Elect Plan, which was filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission late Tuesday, replaces a prior phase-in proposal from the company. Compared with the earlier plan, the new one would be available to more of Ameren’s customers, including schools and some businesses and governmental units. Previously, the plan was only for residential customers.

 

Also, anyone who opts to enroll would be charged a 3.25 percent interest rate for deferred costs, instead of the prior level of 6.5 percent.

 

The electric rate increase for participants in the phase-in plan would be capped at 14 percent in each of the next three years. That translates to an extra $9 a month, or 30 cents a day, for the average residential customer, according to an Ameren news release.

 

The new Ameren proposal also would set aside $15 million to help residential customers pay bills and conserve energy.

 

The ICC, the state’s utility regulator, could consider Ameren’s latest phase-in plan as soon as Dec. 19 or Dec. 20, said ICC spokeswoman Beth Bosch.

 

Ameren officials were unavailable Thursday to discuss the plan. St. Louis-based Ameren serves much of downstate Illinois through its AmerenCIPS, AmerenIP and AmerenCILCO companies.

 

But an Ameren news release said the company filed the necessary paperwork with the ICC this week so it would have enough time to review the request. “All of our resources remain focused on the recovery” from last week’s ice and snow that caused massive power outages, the news release said.

 

The revised Ameren plan already is drawing criticism.

 

David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, said he was still reviewing the proposal, but believes it “still isn’t a good plan for consumers.”

 

“They call this thing a rate cap proposal,” said Susan Hedman, senior assistant attorney general. “It’s not. It’s actually the same high rates, some of which will be deferred, plus interest.”

 

Madigan’s office on Thursday filed a motion with the ICC, asking it to delay implementation of the rate hikes because of pending legal proceedings in the 2nd District Illinois Appellate Court.

 

Hedman said that Madigan’s office also filed affidavits saying that the higher rates would cause “irreparable harm” to customers of Ameren and Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison.

 

“Brand new calculations” based on recently released information show that Ameren customers’ residential bills will increase between 28 percent and 99 percent, depending on whether they are served by AmerenCIPS, AmerenIP or AmerenCILCO, she said.

 

“The picture that’s painted by this data is very grim,” Hedman added.

 

Still uncertain is what, if anything, state lawmakers will do in response to the upcoming electric rate increases. During last month’s veto session, the Illinois House and Senate took different approaches, failing to agree on a plan that could be sent to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

 

The House narrowly rejected a three-year extension of the existing rate freeze, and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, indicated the matter could be voted on again in January. The Senate voted for a three-year phase-in plan without the interest charges that Ameren opposed and ComEd supported.

 

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres(@sj-r.com.