PEORIA, Ill. (JUNE 27, 2018) – As part of its multi-year plan to improve service reliability and create jobs in central and southern Illinois, Ameren Illinois announced today it is upgrading more than 75,000 electric and natural gas meters for residential customers in Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties.
Customers in the following communities will benefit from these enhancements:
“This advanced technology will provide our customers with access to more choices for pricing options and energy efficiency tools to help them manage their energy usage and better control their costs,” said Daetta Jones, Division Director for Ameren Illinois serving Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties. “It will also enable us to more quickly detect system disruptions, prevent outages, and restore service.”
Customers will receive more information about electric and natural gas meter upgrades which are scheduled to begin in August and continue into the summer. Benefits of these smart, two-way communication devices include:
Ameren Illinois will contact customers in advance of making the meter upgrades. Customers do not need to take any action or be present as long as installers have clear and safe access to the meters. The upgrades will take about 10-15 minutes and will be performed by Ameren Illinois or Donco contracting crews displaying Ameren photo-ID badges. Installers will never ask for payment of any kind. There will be a brief interruption to a customer’s electric service. If a customer is not present, a door hanger will be left to let them know if the upgrade was completed.
“We are committed to keeping our customers informed about how we are investing to upgrade their service,” Jones said. “Smart meters contribute to greater service reliability and offer more customer benefits. Enhancing reliability and providing access to energy information is going to continue to deliver energy and cost-saving advantages for our customers in the future.”
According to Jones, customers are experiencing the benefits of Ameren Illinois’s long-term approach for upgrading the state's natural gas and electric delivery infrastructure. Since 2012, Ameren Illinois has implemented hundreds of system reliability projects by adding new technology and fortifying the energy grid. As a result, reliability has improved by an average of 17 percent, saving Ameren Illinois customers an estimated $45 million a year. The utility has added more than 650 employees, and more than 1,600 Illinois-based contract workers who are supporting Ameren Illinois projects.
Customers with questions can visit AmerenIllinois.com/focus or call Ameren Illinois Customer Service at 1-800-755-5000.
About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers throughout central and southern Illinois. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles and our mission is to power the quality of life. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com. Follow us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois and Facebook.