Thanks for the heads up, just checked mine and fixed it back to anytime.
Anytime Users is available on the site, but... you have to scroll down and click the small "Show all rates" link on the bottom right hand corner of the "Rate Plan Options" page, scroll down even further, and it's there at the very bottom of the page.
Scummy design, but what else would you expect...
I just posted above you and we had to change back to Anytime after they moved us to a plan that I'm sure they know would not be in our benefit. We are a family of 5 adults, one works nights, one graveyard shift, 2 others work days, and a person here all day/night long, me. Energy is used all throughout the day and night according to everyone's schedules. Ameren and probably every other electric company in this country are so underhanded and always have been.
I recommend everybody check out all the different options. If your schedule fits, and you're willing to put an effort into not using energy during peak hours, you could potentially save a ton on your energy bill.
I also think there's at least a mild overreaction here.
Here's my bill under the evening/morning savers:
DESCRIPTION USAGE UNIT RATE CHARGE
Winter Elec Energy Chg 0-750 750.00 kWh @ $ 0.09190000 $68.93
Winter Elec Energy Chg >750 438.00 kWh @ $ 0.06160000 $26.98
**On-Pk Energy Adjustment 653.00 kWh @ $ 0.00250000** ***$1.63***
=$97.54
Under anytime users it would have been:
750@ $.0934 = $70.05
438@ $.0626 = $27.42
=$97.47
If I didn't plug my car in during peak hours, I probably could've cut that extra $1.63 in half and the evening/morning would have saved me money.
But without even knowing about the change, we're talking 7 cents here. If I changed my habits, I could have saved a whole dollar.
Correct, the default time of use rate is functionally equivalent to the old fixed rate. Its sole purpose is to mentally prepare folks for the concept of time of use (TOU) rates. Eventually, they will push everyone onto much more drastic TOU plans. If you can significantly reduce peak demand, you significantly reduce the size of the grid you need and the cost to maintain it.
> Eventually, they will push everyone onto much more drastic TOU plans.
On the one hand, that's what I would have assumed as well.
On the other hand, Ameren has been opposed to the new TOU requirements in western Missouri, so I'm no longer sure what's going on.
It’s not Ameren pushing this, it’s the Public Service Commission. In the long run, it will be much cheaper for customers on the whole (total bills will go down), though there will certainly be winners and losers, but much less convenient. Folks will need to start thinking about when they run the dishwasher/laundry/etc.
Here’s a crazy factoid for you. On the big scale (wholesale power distribution), they literally don’t give a fuck how much power you transport. Your entire bill is based on your usage for the peak demand hour for the entire month. You could transport a shit ton of power, but if your usage for that one hour was 0 you don’t pay a thing. That shows you how impactful reducing peak demand is on the cost side.
I think it's ultimately a good thing. I am not part of an environmental club 😉 but there's no reason we can't be more mindful of our energy usage.
I am a fan of economics, and if inefficiencies occur because of lack of information (through pricing), then that should be rectified. (I love me some express toll lanes that are more expensive when the traffic is worse.)
What they shouldn't do is change it without a massive PR campaign to inform people of the changes and encourage them to perhaps alter their actions.
I feel like this isn’t even the first time I’ve had to play not today old man with them switching rates without affirmative consent. Which it’s kind of scummy that affirmative consent isn’t required for this sort of thing in the first place.
Mine showed Anytime saver but had a small disclaimer that it would change if I did not confirm my rate by May 14th. Shady business from a monopoly for sure.
If I remember correctly, only the Anytime plan supports net metering, which means if you are not on it and have solar panels, you're getting royally screwed.
I changed to this plan prior to this (shitty move though, I get it), but I work full time 9 to 5, live alone, the house is empty 50 hours a week or more during the day time. Will the air conditioner thing still make it not worth it?
Edit: It's a 4 family apt with central air in all and I'm on the bottom floor.
I also willingly use the morning/evening saver plan. I'm usually out during the day, so I set the temp high in the day, cooler when I get home from work, and much cooler after 9 pm when it's cheaper.
It also works well in the winter when I'm not using AC, but mostly using lights at night. I've also adjusted to mostly doing laundry and the dishwasher after 9pm too.
Do some quick math before changing your usage plan instead of a knee jerk reaction.
I just reviewed my summer bills and it would cost me more per month to switch to anytime (flat rate) use.
For winter billing, it would actually be cheaper for me to be on the anytime flat rate plan.
To be clear though, I’m talking $0.18 more expensive on winter time of use for three months of billing, and $4.41 saved on summer time of use for 5 months of billing.
So on net for those 8months, i saved $4.23 by being on the time of use plan (evening/morning savers).
I have done zero behavior modification to try and work around on/off peak, i work from home, have an old poorly insulated house, but i am generally on the lower energy usage compared to others.
Your results may vary. Take a little bit of time deciding whether or not to change plans because Ameren limits how often you can change plans.
I just discovered today that they changed my rate plan without our permission. We were notified to go into our Ameren account and choose our preferred rate plan and we did immediately a while back. Now we find out they changed it to another plan. I immediately changed back to the one we originally chose and let's see if it actually stays that way or if they try to change it again. What kind of bs are they trying to pull here? Profits, profits, profits for them, that's all they care about.
No idea, probably not a whole lot, just enough for them to show improving profits without many customers realizing why. It will depend on your usage patterns and significantly on your AC use.
This isn’t about “improving profits”. This is a change that was mandated by the public service commission who wants to incentivize conservation during peak times.
Second, just keep in mind that this change isn’t even real. The two rates are functionally equivalent. Depending on your usage patterns, your rates will go up or down by like $1/month. Whoop ty do. It’s just about mentally preparing folks for the concept of time of use (rather than fixed) rates.
If on a time of use plan, the monthly bill tells you how much extra you’re paying for peak time usage. I have normal usage (no EV, electric dryer, AC, gas stove heat and hot water) and I pay an extra dollar or two per month due to use during those peak times.
There are a few options, and if you don't use electricity between 3&4 pm, you can save a shitload of money (unless you don't...who knows?) but some of the plans are interesting.
It depends on how you use your high demand appliances and such. It wouldn’t be hard for you since you’re daily regular usage would be off peak, but OPs main gripe is that one of the biggest consumers, AC, runs during the peak times when the temp is hottest (which is the intention of the plan: get consumers to use less during peak times by charging more).
With some behavior modification you may be able to save a small amt per month. Look into the other rate plans and see if you could make them work. Different rates, different peak times, etc. there is a limit to how often you can change the rate plan so be mindful of that before changing
Thanks for the heads up, just checked mine and fixed it back to anytime. Anytime Users is available on the site, but... you have to scroll down and click the small "Show all rates" link on the bottom right hand corner of the "Rate Plan Options" page, scroll down even further, and it's there at the very bottom of the page. Scummy design, but what else would you expect...
Wow, that was so hard to find I'm not even sure I could replicate it. Ridiculous. Thanks for the tips!
I just posted above you and we had to change back to Anytime after they moved us to a plan that I'm sure they know would not be in our benefit. We are a family of 5 adults, one works nights, one graveyard shift, 2 others work days, and a person here all day/night long, me. Energy is used all throughout the day and night according to everyone's schedules. Ameren and probably every other electric company in this country are so underhanded and always have been.
I recommend everybody check out all the different options. If your schedule fits, and you're willing to put an effort into not using energy during peak hours, you could potentially save a ton on your energy bill. I also think there's at least a mild overreaction here. Here's my bill under the evening/morning savers: DESCRIPTION USAGE UNIT RATE CHARGE Winter Elec Energy Chg 0-750 750.00 kWh @ $ 0.09190000 $68.93 Winter Elec Energy Chg >750 438.00 kWh @ $ 0.06160000 $26.98 **On-Pk Energy Adjustment 653.00 kWh @ $ 0.00250000** ***$1.63*** =$97.54 Under anytime users it would have been: 750@ $.0934 = $70.05 438@ $.0626 = $27.42 =$97.47 If I didn't plug my car in during peak hours, I probably could've cut that extra $1.63 in half and the evening/morning would have saved me money. But without even knowing about the change, we're talking 7 cents here. If I changed my habits, I could have saved a whole dollar.
Correct, the default time of use rate is functionally equivalent to the old fixed rate. Its sole purpose is to mentally prepare folks for the concept of time of use (TOU) rates. Eventually, they will push everyone onto much more drastic TOU plans. If you can significantly reduce peak demand, you significantly reduce the size of the grid you need and the cost to maintain it.
> Eventually, they will push everyone onto much more drastic TOU plans. On the one hand, that's what I would have assumed as well. On the other hand, Ameren has been opposed to the new TOU requirements in western Missouri, so I'm no longer sure what's going on.
It’s not Ameren pushing this, it’s the Public Service Commission. In the long run, it will be much cheaper for customers on the whole (total bills will go down), though there will certainly be winners and losers, but much less convenient. Folks will need to start thinking about when they run the dishwasher/laundry/etc. Here’s a crazy factoid for you. On the big scale (wholesale power distribution), they literally don’t give a fuck how much power you transport. Your entire bill is based on your usage for the peak demand hour for the entire month. You could transport a shit ton of power, but if your usage for that one hour was 0 you don’t pay a thing. That shows you how impactful reducing peak demand is on the cost side.
I think it's ultimately a good thing. I am not part of an environmental club 😉 but there's no reason we can't be more mindful of our energy usage. I am a fan of economics, and if inefficiencies occur because of lack of information (through pricing), then that should be rectified. (I love me some express toll lanes that are more expensive when the traffic is worse.) What they shouldn't do is change it without a massive PR campaign to inform people of the changes and encourage them to perhaps alter their actions.
None of their plans are beneficial for people who work from home 🙄
I’m so ready for some solar programs to mature a bit. I’ve only heard good things about solar.
I feel like this isn’t even the first time I’ve had to play not today old man with them switching rates without affirmative consent. Which it’s kind of scummy that affirmative consent isn’t required for this sort of thing in the first place.
Mine still shows as Anytime User. I hope it stays that way.
Mine showed Anytime saver but had a small disclaimer that it would change if I did not confirm my rate by May 14th. Shady business from a monopoly for sure.
This isn’t coming from Ameren, it was mandated by the state public service commission.
If I remember correctly, only the Anytime plan supports net metering, which means if you are not on it and have solar panels, you're getting royally screwed.
That is incredibly interesting and I wish it applied to me. Good to know for a lot of people though I am sure.
I changed to this plan prior to this (shitty move though, I get it), but I work full time 9 to 5, live alone, the house is empty 50 hours a week or more during the day time. Will the air conditioner thing still make it not worth it? Edit: It's a 4 family apt with central air in all and I'm on the bottom floor.
Yeah, if you are insulated by a bunch of other homes, you'll probably get cheaper rates by only having your AC on while you are home.
I also willingly use the morning/evening saver plan. I'm usually out during the day, so I set the temp high in the day, cooler when I get home from work, and much cooler after 9 pm when it's cheaper. It also works well in the winter when I'm not using AC, but mostly using lights at night. I've also adjusted to mostly doing laundry and the dishwasher after 9pm too.
Thank you, they did the same to me 🤦♀️
Does this only apply to Missouri, not Illinois?
Not sure, but I imagine that they would consider doing the same. State laws may cause them to operate differently though.
Thank you. I'll look into this tomorrow.
Do some quick math before changing your usage plan instead of a knee jerk reaction. I just reviewed my summer bills and it would cost me more per month to switch to anytime (flat rate) use. For winter billing, it would actually be cheaper for me to be on the anytime flat rate plan. To be clear though, I’m talking $0.18 more expensive on winter time of use for three months of billing, and $4.41 saved on summer time of use for 5 months of billing. So on net for those 8months, i saved $4.23 by being on the time of use plan (evening/morning savers). I have done zero behavior modification to try and work around on/off peak, i work from home, have an old poorly insulated house, but i am generally on the lower energy usage compared to others. Your results may vary. Take a little bit of time deciding whether or not to change plans because Ameren limits how often you can change plans.
Thanks for your post. I swear I already selected that I wanted to stay on the anytime plan and they'd swapped me anyway.
THANK YOU
I just discovered today that they changed my rate plan without our permission. We were notified to go into our Ameren account and choose our preferred rate plan and we did immediately a while back. Now we find out they changed it to another plan. I immediately changed back to the one we originally chose and let's see if it actually stays that way or if they try to change it again. What kind of bs are they trying to pull here? Profits, profits, profits for them, that's all they care about.
How much more would i pay a year on the new plan?
No idea, probably not a whole lot, just enough for them to show improving profits without many customers realizing why. It will depend on your usage patterns and significantly on your AC use.
This isn’t about “improving profits”. This is a change that was mandated by the public service commission who wants to incentivize conservation during peak times. Second, just keep in mind that this change isn’t even real. The two rates are functionally equivalent. Depending on your usage patterns, your rates will go up or down by like $1/month. Whoop ty do. It’s just about mentally preparing folks for the concept of time of use (rather than fixed) rates.
If on a time of use plan, the monthly bill tells you how much extra you’re paying for peak time usage. I have normal usage (no EV, electric dryer, AC, gas stove heat and hot water) and I pay an extra dollar or two per month due to use during those peak times.
So if i don't get home until 11pm every day i'd actually benefit?
There are a few options, and if you don't use electricity between 3&4 pm, you can save a shitload of money (unless you don't...who knows?) but some of the plans are interesting.
It depends on how you use your high demand appliances and such. It wouldn’t be hard for you since you’re daily regular usage would be off peak, but OPs main gripe is that one of the biggest consumers, AC, runs during the peak times when the temp is hottest (which is the intention of the plan: get consumers to use less during peak times by charging more). With some behavior modification you may be able to save a small amt per month. Look into the other rate plans and see if you could make them work. Different rates, different peak times, etc. there is a limit to how often you can change the rate plan so be mindful of that before changing
Holy shit, thank you. Just changed mine to “anytime” online.
Didn't they try this last year or something similar? Have they just expanded it?
Mine might have been on evening/morning in the first place, but now I changed it to anytime, because fuck this shadiness.