Business and Finance

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A downstate Illinois electricity cooperative today will announce plans to offer power statewide, with an eye toward signing up Ameren Corp.’s Illinois customers infuriated by rate hikes.

In a news conference today in Springfield, Greenville-based Southwestern Electric Cooperative will unveil plan to create a subsidiary, New Illinois Cooperative Energy, or NICE. Company officials describe it as a statewide nonprofit power co-op, buying electricity from a third-party producer and returning excess profits to members.

"We’re going to aggregate all those customers in Illinois that would like an option," said Kerry Sloan, CEO of Southwestern Electric Cooperative and president of the new statewide entity.

Sloan said the idea for NICE arose in part from public anger early last year over Illinois rate hikes by Ameren and ComEd, which together serve most of the state. The sharp increases at that time came after the lifting of a decade-long rate-freeze.

That public and political anger came on the heels of controversy over storm-related power failures in 2006, and it resurfaced with this month’s $162 million increase in electric and natural gas delivery rates for Ameren customers.

The proposed new entity would begin operation early next year, if at least 7,000 customers statewide sign up. For a monthly co-op fee ($4 for residential service, $8 for small businesses), customers would join together to buy their power through Chicago-based Integrys Energy Services.

The potential savings for customers will occur if NICE can buy its power cheaper than Ameren’s utilities.

Ameren’s utilities buy, sell and deliver power, but the delivery is the only place the utilities’ profit. Under Illinois law, utilities’ buying and selling is done on a pass-through basis between providers and customers.

"We think customers should investigate any and every option that’s available to them," said Ameren spokesman Leigh Morris.

"This is an encouraging development, but there are not any guarantees," said Dave Kolata, executive director of the Citizens’ Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group for Illinois power consumers. "The jury is still out on whether there are going to be real savings for consumers."

kmcdermott@post-dispatch.com

217-782-4912

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