Ameren Power Smart Pricing

At the beginning of 2007, CNT Energy (formerly known as the Community Energy Cooperative) was awarded the contract to serve as the program administrator for the Ameren Illinois Utilities residential real-time pricing program. CNT Energy and the Ameren Illinois Utilities worked together to develop a strong implementation plan and standard operating procedures for efficient coordination. This included the development of the “Power Smart Pricing” brand for the program and the website, www.powersmartpricing.org, to support the program.

CNT Energy has developed a variety of services to help Power Smart Pricing participants get the best possible value from hourly electricity pricing. Participants can check hourly electricity prices online or by phone, and they can also sign up to receive a Daily Price Report through Twitter. Participants also receive phone or e-mail alerts in advance any time prices will exceed 13 cents per kWh. In addition, participants receive newsletters (electronically or by mail) containing seasonal energy saving tips, and they have access to online tools that let them view detailed breakdowns of their hourly electricity usage.

CNT Energy and the Ameren Illinois Utilities are always exploring new ways of giving customers easy access to information about hourly electricity prices.  In 2008, CNT Energy began The Energy PriceLight Program as a special offering that used additional funding secured by CNT Energy from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF). The PriceLight receives a wireless radio signal and glows different colors to reflect the advisory hourly market prices of electricity. The PriceLight has a color spectrum that ranges from blue to green, yellow, orange, and red. The color spectrum does not indicate an exact price, but the color will indicate changes in the market. The evaluation of that program showed that the PriceLight customers reduced more electricity use during high priced times than customers without the PriceLight.

CNT Energy and the Ameren Illinois Utilities look forward to continuing to develop tools and services that will help customers benefit from their participation in the Power Smart Pricing program.

For more information, or to enroll in the program, go to www.powersmartpricing.org.