Communities Use ActOnEnergy for Big Energy Savings

Ameren Illinois' ActOnEnergy to find ways to get energy savings in your home. You can receive discounts on everything from lightbulbs to overhauling your HVAC system.

Recently Ameren Illinois recognized some communities that have achieved excellent results. Danville, IL businesses completed over 50 ActOnEnergy projects that received nearly $264,000 in incentive payments. Meanwhile Granite City, IL completed 32 ActOnEnergy programs that received an amazing $793,000. 

Other communities around Illinois have achieved great energy savings through these programs.  The 61 participating Decatur businesses save 18.7 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, which is enough savings to meet the demands of 1,870 single-family homes for a year.

The ActOnEnergy program now has $19.2 million worth of incentives available, which has increased from $3 million when it started in 2008. So be sure to get in on the act and your community might be recognized as one of Illinois' "Most Progressive Cities."

Prices Are Temporarily Down

UPDATE: Prices are back up. The hourly prices on www.powersmartpricing.org are temporarily down. Please visit https://www2.ameren.com/RetailEnergy/realtimeprices.aspx for a list of today's prices.

Top 5 - Top Energy Sustainability Blog Posts

At this time of year blogs from around the Internet join in the holiday tradition of recapping the year that was in lists. So what better way to join than to appreciate the top 5 "Top list" blog posts of the year.

1. GigaOM’s top 10 green stories of 2011

2. Smart grid winners, losers (and fence-sitters) 2011

3. Top 5 Smart Grid Trends of 2011

4. Home Energy Management: 8 Big Trends in 2011

5. The Top 5 Smart Grid Disappointments of 2011

So now you have plenty to read so enjoy one of the Top 5 times of the year. Happy holidays!

How to Compare Savings with Power Smart Pricing

This year you may have noticed other companies offering discounted electricity supply rates in your area. These companies are referred to as Retail Electric Suppliers. Retail Electric Suppliers are companies that have received approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission to offer an alternative competitive price for the electricity supply that you use. Their offers cover the supply portion of your bill, but like Power Smart Pricing, do not change the delivery services portion of your bill. As a Power Smart Pricing customer, you need to be aware of the following in order to make an informed decision when considering switching to a Retail Electricity Supplier:

If you sign up for a Retail Electric Supplier, you will be removed from Power Smart Pricing. At this time, you cannot enroll in both.

Savings messages provided by Retail Electric Suppliers are not estimates of savings compared with the prices you pay with Power Smart Pricing. They usually reference how much you might save compared with the Ameren Illinois standard BGS residential rate. For more information about electricity supply prices with Power Smart Pricing and the BGS residential rate, go to www.powersmartpricing.org/about-hourly-prices/.

Savings messages in offers from Retail Electric Suppliers usually refer to the electricity supply portion of the bill only. To make an “apples-to-apples” comparison of these offers with the savings you are getting with Power Smart Pricing, log in to the online bill comparison tool at www.powersmartpricing.org and look at your percent saved on the electricity supply portion of your bill only, or your total dollar amount saved. Since 2007, Power Smart Pricing participants have saved an average of 25 percent on electricity supply costs compared with the Ameren Illinois standard BGS rate.

If you switch to a Retail Electric Supplier, you can switch back to Power Smart Pricing once you switch back to utility supply service.

If you have questions about Power Smart Pricing as it relates to your electric supply options, contact us at info@powersmartpricing.org or 1-877-655-6028. More information is also available from the Illinois Commerce Commission (pluginillinois.org or 1-800-524-0795) and from the Citizen’s Utility Board (citizensutilityboard.org or 1-800-669-5556).

Follow @PowerSmart on Twitter for Prices

Remember you can follow @PowerSmart on Twitter to receive a Daily Price Report that has the highest and lowest prices for the following day.

On days that have a high price alert there is a special message.

If you are an avid twitter user, and you are interested in getting the prices sent to you, follow @PowerSmart.