May 27 2008
AmerenUE's 1.2 million residential customers now have the option to participate in Pure Power -- the company's voluntary renewable energy program -- by purchasing 1,000 kilowatthour (kWh) "blocks" of Pure Power for $15 per block, rather than paying an additional 1.5 cents per kWh for 100 percent of the electricity used each month.
Pure Power funds go toward the purchase of renewable energy certificates, or "RECs," from recently constructed regional wind and other renewable generators. One REC equals the generation of 1,000 kWh of "green power" by a regional wind farm or other renewable energy source.
Previously, the thousands of residential customers now enrolled in Pure Power could only participate by paying on a per-kWh basis. A tariff recently approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) makes it possible to buy in $15 blocks-an option originally reserved only for large industrial users of electricity. The tariff went into effect May 16.
"We filed this tariff as a request to the PSC to give our residential customers more flexibility in controlling how much they pay for Pure Power each month," says AmerenUE Senior Vice President, Missouri Energy Delivery Richard Mark.
According to the terms of the tariff, any customer already signed up with the program can switch to the block option, and new customers to the program can choose either the original pricing method or the block option.
"However, whichever option the customer chooses, he or she is still supporting the development of wind power and other forms of renewable energy in Missouri and the Midwest," Mark said.
At least half of the Pure Power demand is being met by new renewable generators located within Missouri and Illinois. Seventy-five percent or more of customer demand will support wind farms, with the balance supporting other forms of renewable generation.