Electric Rates For Arthur Residents

By now, most Arthur residents have received a letter from Ameren Illinois confirming a change in electric supplier to Homefield Energy effective after the June 15 meter reading.

The timing for all this is confusing because the new Ameren rates were not announced by the Illinois Commerce Commission until June 1, and the Village’s electrical aggregation company, Homefield, switches everyone before that date.

The bottom line is: Homefield Energy’s rates are 4.584 cents per kWh until June 1, 2022 while Ameren’s rates are 4.396 cents per kWh from June 1 through September 30, 2020.

The good news is that both these rates are LESS than what residents are currently paying. So, your electric bill will go down a little no matter which company you choose.

Things to consider when choosing an electric supplier include: Homefield’s rates are guaranteed for a longer period of time, Ameren’s rates get slightly lower the more electricity you use, and Ameren does not care where you buy your electricity and will treat you like any other customer if you buy elsewhere.

In the past, electrical aggregation helped to reduce electric costs to consumers by providing competitive pricing against utility companies who, even though they just pass on the cost for electricity to their customers, were not overly concerned about how much the electricity cost.

The competition between electrical aggregation companies and utility companies has benefited consumers. It is important that competition remains in the marketplace when it comes to electric rates.

The agreement Homefield Energy has with the Village of Arthur allows for residents to opt in or opt out of its program anytime. If you switch from Ameren to another electric supplier, you may not go back to Ameren for a year.

Even though the letter you received from Ameren says you must respond by May 26, 2020 if you do not want to be switched to Homefield Energy, you can call Homefield at (866) 694-1262 at any time to go back to Ameren without any fees applied.

You can also go to www.pluginillinois.org to check on current rates if you ever want to consider changing electric suppliers.

Hope this information is helpful.

Rod Randall
Village President