Reis: Electric Rate Relief Efforts Continue

February 12, 2007

Olney…With recent efforts to extend electric rate freezes for an additional three years falling short, Representative David Reis (R-Ste. Marie) and other area legislators are stepping up their efforts to provide some much needed relief to the soaring electric rates that some customers are now facing.

"Over the past three months, the Democratic Leadership in Springfield have chosen to put politics over public policy and block compromise solutions to the higher electric rates from becoming law" said Reis. "As a result, Ameren consumers are seeing 50+ percent increases in their electric bills because the recent ten-year rate freeze expired on December 31 st , 2006."

Reis said the folks back home want to see results and are uninterested in political wrangling. Right now lawmakers are directing their efforts on several fronts.

  "We have begun the process of hosting additional hearings around the state so that we can hear first hand just how burdensome these high rates have become for our residents," Reis stated. " We are also in the final stages of drafting the language of a new bill that, if passed into law, would create a regional aggregation pilot program ."

This legislation would allow most of the participating municipalities in Southern Illinois, who are not currently part of a rural electric cooperative, to purchase their electric power jointly with the other participants in the pilot program to achieve more competitive prices for their customers.

"This bill is a creative effort to initiate more competition from the purchasing end of the equation" Reis stated. "By pooling their purchasing powers together municipalities should be able to receive much more competitive bids from electric providers."

While the legislation is scheduled to be heard in the House Electric Utility Oversight Committee later this week, Reis is joining other area lawmakers in requesting that Governor Blagojevich call a special session to address the electric rate issue.

"We feel that with all that is going on in Springfield, this very important issue should receive our undivided attention" Reis concluded. "By calling a special session, discussions would be limited to electric rates only. It would keep lawmakers focused on finding a workable solution to this very critical problem."

Reis said hearing schedules will be announced soon and encourages residents to call the Governor office at (217) 782-0244 to voice their support for a special session.