PEORIA, Ill. (25News Now) – Ameren Illinois customers will see a new electricity supply price, lower than the summer price, but still higher than this time last year.
Starting Oct. 1 and running through May 2027, the new price for the first 800 kWh of usage will be 10.441 cents per kWh and 8.262 cents per kWh after that.
The Citizens Utility Board said Ameren’s “price to compare” rate, while around 8% lower than last summer (11.326 cents per kWh for the first 800 kWh of usage), is still around 24% higher than the price set last October. Ameren Illinois tells 25News that the non-summer rate from Oct. 2025 to May 2026 was 8.402 cents per kWh for the first 800 kWh.
“We are concerned for the well-being of Ameren customers as they endure a second year of this electricity price spike,” CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said. “Although Ameren is not profiting off this price increase, the utility still has a key role: We call on Ameren to work with customers to keep them connected this year. And we will continue to work for state reforms—the POWER Act—to protect customers from the impact of data center-related energy demand on power prices. We must rein in data centers and make sure Big Tech pays its fair share of energy bills.”
Ameren Illinois said about half of the company’s delivery-service customers receive their power supply from an alternative retail supplier. Ameren said many of those deals are higher than the company’s own supply price, sometimes significantly so.
“While the price of electricity and capacity purchased for our customers by the Illinois Power Agency and the regional grid operator (MISO) is lower than the summer period, prices remain at elevated levels due to tight supply conditions,” said Matt Tomc, Vice President, Regulatory Policy and Energy Supply at Ameren Illinois. “These agencies have indicated supply prices are being influenced by an accelerating demand for electricity, an aging generation fleet, loss of accredited capacity, and insufficient new generation sources. We remind our customers that Ameren does not profit from the price of supply. Supply charges are collected from customers and passed directly to power generators, dollar-for-dollar.”
CUB is working to pass the Illinois POWER Act, which would implement several reforms, including requiring data centers to bring their own new clean power if they want electric service that won’t be curtailed at times of high demand.
LiHEAP will soon open up to residents needing assistance with their energy bill. The program opens Oct. 1 for priority households including seniors, people with disabilities, families with young children, and those facing an emergency.
On Nov. 1, local agencies will start approving other income-qualified households.
Another benefit starts Oct. 1, called the Electric Service Discount Program.
“We’re looking at the affordability of the bill on the electric side,” Ameren Illinois assistance manager Kim Bond said. “It takes into account a customer’s household energy burden. So based on their energy burden, if we see that paying your energy burden is less than paying a normal electric bill, then yes, we could enroll you in that program.”
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