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| NewsTuesday, August 14, 2007 9:59 PM CDT |
Consumers expecting relief waiting on governor’s OK
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s delay in acting on a plan to send Ameren and ComEd customers rebates for their power bills could mean that the money might not go out as early as planned. When lawmakers approved rate relief legislation last month, the utilities said customers could start seeing the refunds beginning with their September bills. But that assumed quick action from Blagojevich, who says he needs to review the plan thoroughly before making a decision. Obviously, if Blagojevich vetoes the relief package, refunds won’t go out. If the governor does eventually approve, but waits several more weeks, some customers might not get refunds until October, said Ameren spokesman Shelley Epstein. Ameren has said it can start sending refund checks two weeks after Blagojevich approves. If he doesn’t until the beginning of September, people who get their power bills early in the month likely wouldn’t get refund checks until early October. Epstein said the total amount a customer would be refunded for the year won’t change. A bulk of it would just come at a different time. When asked if credits to ComEd customers’ bills could be delayed, a company spokeswoman said only that they respect Blagojevich’s right to review the legislation. Epstein said Ameren could soon offer a feature on its Web site to show individual customers how much they’ll eventually get back. Still, the rate deal won’t be a done deal until Blagojevich acts. Lawmakers and others called on him to do so before Aug. 3. A critical Ameren contract expired that day, meaning future rates could go up more than initially predicted. Now, Ameren customers will pay $16 million more over the next five years, according to the attorney general’s office. The price aspect of that contract has been floating and won’t be locked in until after the legislation is signed, said Ameren Illinois President Scott Cisel. Now they could be renegotiated every Friday. That means future rates could go higher or lower, depending on the market. “It certainly could, or stay the same,” Cisel said. |
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