ATTORNEY GENERAL MADIGAN'S STATEMENT ON AMEREN RATE DECREASE
Ameren customers will soon see their electric rates go down as a result of the new electricity procurement process. That is good news at a time when families throughout Illinois are struggling to cope with the tough economy.
The 2009 Ameren procurement prices, which were announced today, demonstrate clearly that the new process for procuring electricity benefits consumers. The Illinois Power Agency, the newly-created agency that administered the procurement process for the first time this year, is making a positive difference for Illinois families.
Background:
The current electricity procurement process was originally proposed by Attorney General Madigan and adopted in 2007 as part of a settlement of numerous lawsuits that Madigan filed attacking the legality of the reverse auction and alleging market manipulation. The settlement also included $1 billion in rate relief for Ameren and ComEd customers.
The decision to replace the use of a reverse auction to procure electricity looks even better when compared to what is occurring in other states that still use a reverse auction. In those states, recent prices have been as much as three-times higher than the prices produced this spring by the new Illinois procurement process.
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