March 29, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Village says to ‘opt out’

Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges wants St. Joseph residents to know their options.
At a recent village board meeting, Fruhling-Voges said that the electrical
aggregation program the village belongs to had found an electrical rate
that was significantly lower than Ameren.

That changed on June 1.

Reg Ankrom, President of SIMEC LLC, which works with the village to find
residents the cheapest electrical rate, emailed Fruhling-Voges to tell her
that Ameren had announced a residential electric rate that is nearly one
percent per kilowatt-hour less than the Village's electric aggregation
rate of 8.66 cents, effective July 1.

“At 7.877 cents per kilowatthour, Ameren's new rate would provide annual
savings of $78 to the typical residential consumer, who uses 10,000
kilowatthours a year,” Ankrom said. “Although St. Joseph’s MEA rate was
lower than Ameren’s electric supply cost at the time the Village got
competitive bids for its program, recent auctions for energy supply have
produced significantly lower charges for electric generating capacity and
fuel, the major components of electric aggregation rates in Illinois.”

Fruhling-Voges said her recommendation to residents is that they opt out
of the  contract with Homefield. Residents should have recently received a
letter from Homefield with instructions on how to opt out of the program.
Residents can also call Homefield's toll free number, 866-694-1262 to opt
out. 

To opt out, residents will need to have their ten-digit Ameren
account number, which appears in the upper left corner of their Ameren
bill’s first page. Callers can avoid lengthy wait times by leaving a
request for a return call. Calls will be returned in the order received.
Fruhling-Voges tried to opt the entire village out of the rate with
Homefield but residents must opt out on an individual basis.

“Thankfully we have the ability to opt out without any penalties,” she
said. “This is always a chance that we take going to the market place to
get them a better rate.”

The Village designed its electric aggregation program to assure that
participants have access to the lowest electricity price available on the
market by permitting them to opt out at any time and at no cost.

The Village last year paused its MEA program for 12 months when market
volatility sent competitive prices above Ameren’s. Electricity prices have
been volatile in the regulated market, as well, over the past year.

Ameren’s regulated supply rate for residential customers more than
doubled—from 5.478 cents per kilowatthour to 11.833 cents over the last 12
months.

Ameren will continue to deliver electricity to residents and small
businesses, answer calls about power quality and outages, and bill for all
electric supply and distribution services. Answers to questions about
delivery service and bills are available by calling Ameren’s toll-free
number at 800-755-5000.
Banner
Related Posts

Wakefield wants to serve community

April 5, 2021

April 5, 2021

Allison Wakefield knows Ogden.  Wakefield has lived in the community for more than 18 years and is now raising her...

St. Joseph Village Board, June 27, 2023

June 27, 2023

June 27, 2023

Special event permit for Pickleball tournament during Community Festival. Proposal is to do a tournament at the festival. Either doing...

Painter wants to help St. Joseph thrive

December 7, 2020

December 7, 2020

Max Painter wants what is best for the community. That’s why he is running for re-election tonight at the St....

Brush pickup to be suspended for May

April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

Brush pickup is being suspended within the village of St. Joseph. Buildings and Grounds Chairperson Roy McCarty said the village...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, April 26

April 26, 2022

April 26, 2022

I am here. With my 20 closest friends.We are moving the agenda all over to get people in and out....

Hometown appeal: The Wheelhouse earns Business of the Year honors

April 16, 2019

April 16, 2019

When the Wheelhouse opened in 2017, it was unlike anything in St. Joseph. And still is. The farm-to-table restaurant owned...

Sewer rate increase to take place in May

April 26, 2023

April 26, 2023

St. Joseph residents can expect a sewer rate increase in May. Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges said the rate increase is going...

5 questions with Republican Caucus candidate Max Painter

December 2, 2024

December 2, 2024

1. What made you want to run? I had initially planned to retire after this term, but I’ve reconsidered due...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Aug. 23, 2022

August 23, 2022

August 23, 2022

I am here with five people in the audience. #hugecrowd Plus, the usual Mr. Sennert doing IT and Mr. Miller...

Village asking for feedback on liquor license

January 25, 2021

January 25, 2021

The Village of St. Joseph is asking residents for feedback regarding a proposed new liquor license. During a Jan. 18...

Is a new village hall in St. Joseph’s future?

March 29, 2022

March 29, 2022

The Village of St. Joseph is discussing selling three properties downtown. And it could come with a new use for...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, May 10

May 10, 2022

May 10, 2022

Me and Sawyer are here at Village Board so you don’t have to be. #dancephotosmadeuslate They discussed the outdoor cafe...

Registration open for electronics recycling event

September 9, 2019

September 9, 2019

Residents in St. Joseph, Homer, Royal, Ogden and unincorporated Champaign County can now register for the county-wide electronic recycling event....

Live at St. Joseph Village Board Jan. 26, 2021

January 26, 2021

January 26, 2021

We are zooming here tonight. In case you didn’t hear Jack Flash has pulled their request for a pour license...

Live at Village Board, April 25, 2023

April 25, 2023

April 25, 2023

We are here. On the agenda, the festival committee, the Fourth of July parade, outdoor dining for Roch’s and El...

Comments
Leave a Reply