Gas bills will drop and electric bills will rise for Ameren Illinois customers in 2024

St. Louis Public Radio | By Will Bauer

Published Jan. 2, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. CST

On a sunny winter day and a little snow on the ground, Ameren Illinois customers can be seen from a drone working on a electrical lines just off a rural road. — Ameren Illinois provides electricity to roughly 1.2 million people in southern and central Illinois. For gas, the utility company serves more than 800,000.

Ameren Illinois customers may soon notice dips to their gas bills and hikes to their electrical bills.

Separate decisions from the Illinois Commerce Commission late in 2023 will leave Ameren customers in south and central Illinois on average paying $4.33 per month more for their electricity, according to the company.

Over the winter months, November to March, natural gas rates will be $17 less compared to the same period last year, the company said.

The new, elevated electrical rates will kick in for roughly 1.2 million Illinois customers. More than 800,000 Illinoisans may see a drop to their gas bills.

In November, the commerce commission approved rate hikes for four gas providers, including Ameren, over the next year. The commission slashed the hike by more than 50% of Ameren’s initial request, according to Capitol News Illinois.

Initially, the company requested $71.57 million for gas delivery services. The commission’s decision capped the price tag at $34.93 million.

One month later, the commerce commission made a similar move with electrical rates, curtailing proposed rate increases over the next four years and also rejecting grid plans designed to comply with new state law regarding climate change.

Both decisions from the Commerce Commission were panned by utility companies and praised by customer advocates.

“We're never happy to see rates go up,” said Sarah Moskowitz, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board. “But, historically, this is a significant decision from the Illinois Commerce Commission because they really slashed the utilities rate hike requests to an extent that were very rarely seen.”

Since the commission rejected the electric rate and grid plans from Ameren and Commonwealth Edison, the utility companies are expected to present amended plans to the commission this year, Moskowitz said. The electric plans, once ratified, would be in place for four years.

Ameren Illinois said customers can expect to see the changes to their bills in the January 2024 billing cycle.

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