ST. LOUIS, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its "Be Cool" Air Conditioner Program, AmerenUE today announces that it will donate 350 window unit air conditioners to five social service agencies and one health department in Ameren's Missouri service territory. The air conditioners are all Energy Star®-listed appliances that meet the strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.
Agency partners will distribute the air conditioners to qualifying AmerenUE customers. Those partners are the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Urban League of St. Louis County; the Samaritan Center of Jefferson City; the East Missouri Action Agency in Park Hills and Potosi; Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service of St. Charles County; and the Jefferson County Health Department.
The Urban League received 220 air conditioners to distribute to recipients in St. Louis City and St. Louis County; AmerenUE also donated 25 units to the Samaritan Center, 40 units to Sts. Joachim and Ann, and 40 units to the East Missouri Action Agency. The Jefferson County Health Department received 25 air conditioners. AmerenUE employee volunteers will deliver the air conditioners to the agencies. The Jefferson County Health Department will deliver and install air conditioners, while volunteers from other social service agencies will deliver and/or install air conditioners for recipients.
Eligible recipients, who have already been selected, are AmerenUE low income and low income elderly customers. Participating agencies used poverty guidelines and other circumstances to qualify air conditioner recipients.
As part of the "Be Cool" program, each air conditioner recipient will also receive an energy conservation kit. This kit includes a fold-out weatherization poster, brochures on energy efficiency, safety tips, and budget billing and payment information to help customers save money and energy, as well as an energy assistance guide. The kit, contained within a handsome business tote, includes a water bottle, glow-in-the-dark light switch plate, emergency contact number magnet, pen, paper pad, energy conservation wheel and flashlight.
"Through the 'Be Cool' program, AmerenUE and its partners are able to provide free air conditioning units for qualifying elderly and low income residential customers. This is essential to keeping these customers safe during the hot summer months," said Richard Mark, AmerenUE senior vice president, Missouri Energy Delivery. "Just as important, however, is encouraging people to turn on those air conditioners. On average, it costs less than $1.00 a day to run a window-unit air conditioner during the summer. Yet every year, people become needlessly sick or even die because of hot weather -- even people who have air conditioners."
With residential electric retail rates that are nearly 37 percent below the national average, AmerenUE provides electricity and natural gas to 1.2 million customers in Missouri. Ameren Corporation, through its affiliates, serves 2.4 million electric and nearly 1 million natural gas customers across 64,000 square miles of Illinois and Missouri.
SOURCE: AmerenUE
CONTACT: Metro St. Louis, Tim Fox, +1-314-554-3120, or Outstate
Missouri, Mike Cleary, +1-573-681-7137, both of AmerenUE
Web site: http://www.ameren.com/