AmerenUE Unveils Improved, User-Friendly,
Interactive Energy Savings Toolkit
Initiative Helps Customers Benefit From Specific Energy Savings in Their Homes
New to this service is the Energy Savings Toolkit “Dashboard.” It is the first screen customers see after they go to www.ameren.com, log into the company’s secure “e-Customer” Web site, using their User ID and Password, and click on “Energy Toolkit.” (Customers will need a copy of a current bill to register for e-Customer and obtain a User ID and Password first). The screen presents a pie chart showing the major factors contributing to a customer’s bill, and a graphic that indicates how the customer’s energy usage and bill compare to those of similar homes in the neighborhood.
“The dashboard’s beauty is that it presents the most important information up front—telling me where my energy dollars are going, and how my usage compares to others,” says Greg Lovett, managing supervisor of Products and Services. “From there, customers can ‘drill down’ to more detailed information that can help them cut energy usage and lower their monthly bills.”
Lovett adds that this information is something customers have been asking for, especially with the higher cost of gasoline and rising prices overall for everything from bread to clothing.
“The bottom line is that the Toolkit gives customers the information they need to take control of energy costs,” says Lovett. “It offers practical, often low-cost or no-cost solutions to controlling energy usage and costs.”
From the dashboard, customers can:
· Analyze current bills and compare them to the prior-year period.
· Determine the factors that account for bill increases and decreases from the prior month, like changes in weather or putting an addition on the home.
· Calculate the savings potential of energy-efficient appliances.
· Determine what portion of their energy goes to heating, cooling, hot water, food storage, lighting and other energy needs.
Unlike sites that require customers to answer a long questionnaire, UE’s Toolkit asks a few questions and offers immediate suggestions, prompting the customer to dig deeper. The Toolkit even includes an extensive library where customers can learn about virtually any energy-related topic.
“We’ve worked hard to make the Toolkit not only attractive and easy-to-use, but also efficient and as close to ‘real time’ as current technology allows us to be,” says Lovett. “It’s also ‘scalable,’ which means it can grow and change as the technology grows and changes.”
AmerenUE serves 1.2 million electric customers and 125,000 natural gas customers in
# # #