Beginning on January 1, Ameren Illinois customers will see an increase in their electric bill of around $2.50 per month. Some of the money will go towards ongoing upgrades to current grids, and getting ready for future clean energy projects.
Tucker Kennedy is Communications Director with Ameren Illinois.
"And that revenue allows us to do what our customers want, and that's to deliver safe, reliable and affordable energy, and to prepare the grid for the clean energy requirements that are coming under the new state energy laws.
As an example, Kennedy says Ameren's plans to build two large solar energy plants in 2022 will require capital.
"Clean energy is not free energy. There are going to be costs associated with these changes, and those are costs that will be absorbed by energy customers."
In September Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act into law which will put the state on the path towards 100 percent clean energy.
The Citizens Utility Board put out an alert to customers this month, criticizing the hike at a time when natural gas prices and inflation are already putting a pinch on pocketbooks.
