Beginning today, residential and commercial customers in AmerenUE’s Missouri natural gas service area will again be able to get rebates for purchasing and installing certain new Energy Star® listed energy-efficient natural gas equipment. The new rebate program is a follow-up to a pilot program that began in early 2005. Rebates will be available for equipment purchased through Dec. 31, 2008, unless the $113,300 allocated for this program is depleted earlier.
The Missouri Energy Efficient Natural Gas Equipment Rebate Program offers AmerenUE’s 125,000 Missouri natural gas customers rebates for a portion of the cost of the following Energy Star® qualified products:
· Programmable auto setback thermostats. Limited to residential customers, the rebate will provide up to $25, or 50 percent of the cost of purchasing one Energy Star® qualified thermostat, whichever is less.
· Residential Energy Star® listed natural gas furnaces. Residential customers may receive a rebate of up to $200, or 50 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing one Energy Star® listed natural gas furnace, whichever is less.
· Energy-efficient commercial natural gas utilization equipment. Commercial customers who purchase and install one Energy Star® listed commercial natural gas utilization product—such as a furnace, dryer, fryer, steam cooker, or other kitchen appliance—may receive a rebate of up to $475, or 50 percent of the cost, whichever is less.
All qualifying equipment must be purchased by Dec. 31, 2008, and installed by Jan. 31, 2009. Applications must be postmarked by Feb. 28, 2009, to qualify for the rebate. But before purchasing and installing a qualified residential natural gas furnace or commercial natural gas utilization equipment, customers must call 1-800-210-8131 to obtain a Reservation Code. This code will help ensure that sufficient funds for the rebate are still available.
To obtain the rebate, customers must submit a rebate form with required documentation to the address given on the form. Rebate forms and full program details are available by visiting the Ameren Web site (www.ameren.com).
To find qualifying Energy Star® equipment, go to a local retailer who sells such products, call a local contractor who installs such equipment, or visit the official Energy Star® Web site: www.energystar.gov. AmerenUE natural gas customers may also get information or request rebate forms by calling 314-342-1111 in the St. Louis area, or 800-552-7583 elsewhere.
Because funding is limited, customers who wish to take advantage of the rebates are urged to apply early. Rebate checks will be mailed within eight to 10 weeks after the submission of a completed rebate form.
This pilot program was developed by a collaborative team that included representatives of AmerenUE, the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC), the Missouri Office of Public Counsel, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Energy Center. It is aimed at promoting more effective use of natural gas by encouraging the replacement of inefficient natural gas equipment with highly-efficient Energy Star® products.
“The goal of this program is to educate our customers and help them see that energy efficiency does make a difference,” says Greg Lovett, AmerenUE managing supervisor, Products and Services. “We also want to generate awareness for the Energy Star® label and encourage our customers to purchase energy efficient Energy Star® listed equipment.”
AmerenUE is funding the program as part of a natural gas rate case settlement approved in 2007 by the PSC and other parties.
Under the previous Energy Efficient Natural Gas Equipment Rebate Program, the company paid rebates totaling nearly $28,000 during the initial application period that ran from February through March 2005, nearly $81,000 during the second application period that ran from October 2005 through April 2006, and nearly $43,000 during the final phase of the program, which ran from October 2006 through September 2007.
Energy Star® was originally introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency. Today, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy, the program offers businesses and consumers energy efficient solutions to save energy and money, and to help protect the environment. More information about Energy Star® can be found at the following Web site: www.energystar.gov.
AmerenUE is a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation. Ameren, through its subsidiaries, serves 2.4 million electric customers and nearly one million natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area of Missouri and Illinois.
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CONTACT: Mike Cleary, +1-573-681-7137, mcleary@ameren.com