Illinois Rates Have Been Reduced…and Frozen Since 1997
The Illinois General Assembly and the Governor, after years of discussion and public debate with stakeholders and consumer advocates, enacted the 1997 Illinois Customer Choice Law setting the course for the re-regulation of Illinois’ electric utilities.
The 1997 Illinois Customer Choice Law:
		Established a rate freeze and mandatory rate decrease for residential customers. That freeze lasted almost a decade.
		Encouraged Illinois utilities to divest their generation assets to focus on providing safe, reliable and economical delivery of electricity to their customers.
Before the law, Illinois’ investor-owned electric utilities were vertically integrated―they generated electricity in their own power stations and then delivered that electricity to their customers through their own transmission and delivery systems.    Today they are integrated distribution companies (IDCs). Simply put, they no longer own or operate generating stations and instead focus on delivery of electricity. The generating assets of the companies are now owned by other unaffiliated generation companies or separate non-rate-regulated affiliated subsidiaries that compete with other suppliers throughout the nation.    The ICC (Illinois Commerce Commission) is in charge of electricity rates, reliability and service issues. They continue to regulate the utility companies as they have always done. As a result of the 1997 law the electricity generation market in Illinois is now deregulated.    Since the advent of the competitive marketplace designed by the 1997 law, market forces determine how electricity will be provided to customers in Illinois, and customers have the right to choose providers of their electricity.    The electric utilities now rely on power purchase agreements to supply electricity to their retail customers who have not exercised choice.
Energy Consumption
To keep pace with the information revolution, customers have increased their consumption of electricity. Illinoisans are using more electricity today than ever before – items like computers, printers, multiple televisions, larger televisions, cable/satellite TV boxes, basement/garage freezers, DVD players, garage door openers, security systems and many other gadgets and devices we rely on in today’s environment – have greatly increased electricity usage.
Transition Period
Since 1997, Illinois has been in a transition period that has involved a greater reliance on market forces to determine how electricity will be provided to customers.    Today Ameren’s Illinois utilities distribute energy. They no longer own generation, and therefore must find an adequate and reliable supply source for their customers. A key milestone in this transition was 12/31/2006 when the rate freeze and current power supply contracts expired. In 2007 Illinois’ electricity companies must purchase electricity on the open market at market prices.