CUB Slams Rate hikesSays Ameren Action Will Cost Thousands of Jobs in Illinois

By Linda N. Weller, The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.

Feb. 20–ALTON — The recent spike in electric rates could cost more than 20,000 jobs in Illinois, according to a study released Monday by the Citizens Utility Board.

“Businesses are paying more for electricity, which means the cost of doing business increases,” said Rob Kelter, senior counsel at Chicago-based CUB. “They will lay off employees and increase the price of goods and services. Business also will be hit indirectly because consumers have less discretionary income to spend.”"Some $2.3 billion will be taken out of the economy” as a result of first-of-the-year rate increases by Ameren and Exelon Corp., parent corporation of CommonwealthEdison, he said.

Kelter held a press conference at the YWCA, 304 E. Third St., to unveil a report done in cooperation with Synapse Energy Economics Inc. of Cambridge, Mass.

The report says Illinois will lose one job for every $116,121 in higher electric prices, resulting in loss of 20,431 jobs. The losses, then, will create a ripple effect, further hurting the economy, he said.

“It doesn’t take into consideration Ameren’s rates next year, and the year after that,” he said.

He said Ameren “is crying poverty on Main Street” but setting record profits on Wall Street. He said subsidiaries such as AmerenCIPS, which serves much of the Alton area, may not be making big profits from its electric sales, but parent company Ameren is making a lot.

CUB on Monday also kicked off its “Don’t Get Shocked Action Campaign” to effect rollback of the rate increases and to reinstate the former electric freeze rate.

The campaign asks unhappy citizens to contact legislators and to attend Illinois Senate-sponsored hearings. One hearing will be held at 1 p.m. today in Room 1007 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s East St. Louis Center, 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. Other hearings tentatively are slated for Peoria, Chicago and Waukegan.

“CUB is hearing from scores of customers” devastated by the increase, Kelter said. “They are foregoing medicine, turning off their heat at night and choosing between heating and eating.”

Ameren media relations offices in St. Louis and Springfield were closed Monday for Presidents Day.

State Sen. William Haine, state Rep. Dan Beiser, Alton Township Supervisor Don Huber, East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer and East St. Louis businessman Scott Johnson all spoke at Monday’s press conference about the importance of immediate legislative action.

Haine said the Senate Environment and Energy Committee plans to meet Wednesday with representatives from Ameren, CUB, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and AARP. Beiser said the House plans to reintroduce a bill from last session, from Rep. George Scully Jr. of Flossmoor, but it is too early to say what form it could take before going to committee. House Democrats also plan to meet Wednesday to “caucus” on the issue.

“Everything is on the table here,” Beiser said.

Haine said legislators need to immediately freeze rates at Dec. 31 levels, and then look to a long-term “scheme of competition” for electric sales.

“All manners of business will be impacted by these increases,” Haine said. “Schools and other taxing entities, who do you think will pay for that? This will take money out of the economy and be shipped to the headquarters of Ameren, which I assume is in Missouri. This puts us at a disadvantage to attract business and residents. The days that Illinois can afford Ameren are over.”

Officer said 11,000 East St. Louisans are making $10,000 or less per year; Section 8 rent vouchers are being cut back, and now electric rates “are going through the roof.”

“You can calculate what the effects are of the increase, catastrophic at the least,” he said. “I’m a third-generation businessman, and I’ve seen a 50 to 60 percent increase” in the bills at the three funeral homes in Southern Illinois.

“This is not a poverty question, it is a question of equality and fairness across the board,” Officer said. “We need relief now; we can’t wait for April or May. This will be putting our economy in jeopardy.”

Officer said municipalities are paying for higher electric costs for city buildings, but towns such as East St. Louis will reap more revenues from their municipal utility tax on the bills. “We will have to dole benefits from this in some humane effort,” Officer said.

Other area cities with the tax are Alton, Edwardsville and Wood River.

Huber said Alton Township’s electric bills rose from $385 to $800, which is making his annual budgeting process impossible. He said Altonians are calling his office in a panic over what may happen next, if the bills remain high.

“It will be equivalent to a tornado hitting this town,” because people will lose jobs and need general assistance money, which already is “nearly maxed out.”

Residents at hearing blast increases

Officeholders said at a press conference Monday that Ameren misrepresented the rate increase that took effect Jan. 2 — accusations that won approval from a crowd of unhappy residents who attended the meeting at the Alton YWCA.

Ann Barton, 77, of Alton, said she is angry over her bill that jumped from $102 to $221, for an 800-square-foot house with electric heat.

“That’s more than double, I was expecting an increase, but maybe $1 a day,” she said. “My husband takes medicines, he is on oxygen. I’m afraid to see what will happen this summer when I turn on the air conditioning. It’s pitiful. I hoping an Ameren person would be here.”

The Rev. Samuel White, of Monroe Memorial Church of God in Christ, 1823 Belle St. in Alton, has a new church building but that didn’t mean the electric bill was reasonable, rising from $500 to $2,000.

“It was as much as the mortgage rate,” White said. “It was a whole lot more than I thought it would be.” White said people are being hit twice by the bills. “Some people have to pay the church bills, too,” he said. “It is outrageous and ridiculous Ameren is allowed to do this. We’ll go to Springfield because we can’t afford to stay in Alton,” regarding Johnson urging people to protest at the state Capitol.

“My bill was $544 last month, and $1,000 this month,” said Johnson, owner of Best Fish House. “I was very shocked and I told my daughter to call and see if it was a mistake, that maybe they didn’t get my last payment. I’ve been open one year, and with the rate doubling my bill, I’m not going to be in business long. I want a rate freeze. If I have to go to Springfield and protest, I will go to Springfield and protest.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.

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