Ameren Illinois today received the Governor’s Sustainability Award during a ceremony held at the Hilton Garden Inn, Champaign.
The award cites the Green Pre-rinse Nozzle Program, which allows Ameren Illinois commercial kitchen customers with natural gas water heaters to receive a free high-efficiency pre-rinse water nozzle.
“The Green Pre-rinse Nozzle will save the typical commercial kitchen customer $880 in annual natural gas costs and more than $500 a year on their water bills,” said Stan Ogden, Ameren Illinois vice president of Customer Service and Public Relations.
“We are honored to receive this award because it underscores the significant environmental and financial benefits that are being generated by our ActOnEnergy® program,” Ogden said. He accepted the award for Ameren Illinois.
Since the program began in June 2009, more than 2,000 Green Nozzles have been installed. These nozzles have helped business customers cut their natural gas usage by 2.8 million therms – an amount equal to the natural gas used by nearly 3,600 typical residential customers in a year. Those customers also have reduced their water usage by a total of 300 million gallons.
The Champaign-based Illinois Green Business Association began working with Ameren Illinois this summer to install Green Nozzles and faucet aerators in the Champaign area commercial kitchens.
Also, Ameren Illinois and Springfield’s City Water Light and Power teamed up this month to expand the Green Nozzle Program in the capital city. While Ameren Illinois is the natural gas utility in Springfield, CWLP is the water provider. With a Green Nozzle, the typical restaurant customer can save almost $2,000 annually on natural gas and water costs.
In addition to the Green Nozzles, Ameren Illinois commercial kitchen customers are eligible for financial incentives when they make Energy Star kitchen equipment upgrades, make lighting upgrades and install high-efficiency water heaters, ice makers or solid or glass door freezers.
ActOnEnergy offers incentive programs and advice for businesses of all sizes and types. Complete business program information is available at ActOnEnergy.com, by calling 1-866-800-0747 or by sending an e-mail to ActOnEnergyBusiness@ameren.com.
Since ActOnEnergy was launched in 2008, the amount of annual business incentive dollars has grown from $3 million to $18 million. The energy efficiency program is funded through a small charge, Rider EDR, on customer electric bills and Rider GER on customer natural gas bills. This charge is mandated by state law.
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 813,000 natural gas customers in downstate Illinois, and our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com.
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Contacts: Leigh Morris, 1-217-535-5228, lmorris@ameren.com; Victoria Busch, 1-618-346-1286, vbusch@ameren.com; Neal Johnson, 1-309-677-5284, njohnson@ameren.com