At the beginning of 2007, CNT Energy (formerly known as the Community Energy Cooperative) was awarded the contract to serve as the program administrator for the Ameren Illinois Utilities residential real-time pricing program. CNT Energy was selected through a competitive request for proposal process. CNT Energy and the Ameren Illinois Utilities worked together during the first quarter of 2007 to develop a strong implementation plan and standard operating procedures for efficient coordination. This included the development of the “Power Smart Pricing” brand for the program and a new Web site, www.powersmartpricing.org, to support the program.

Power Smart Pricing launched in the spring of 2007 and enrollment has been growing ever since. The first year of operations for Power Smart Pricing had several key successes. First, the program succeeded in lowering participants’ bills, and average savings for 2007 came to 16 percent. Second, the program administration procedures developed by CNT Energy and the Ameren Illinois Utilities have resulted in a smooth enrollment process with meter exchanges typically taking one week. Participants’ first bills on the hourly rate are typically issued after one full month of hourly usage data has been recorded.

CNT Energy has developed a variety of services to help Power Smart Pricing participants get the best possible value from hourly electricity pricing. Participants can check hourly electricity prices online or by phone, and they receive phone or e-mail alerts in advance any time prices will exceed 13 cents per kWh. In addition, participants receive newsletters (electronically or by mail) containing seasonal energy saving tips, and they have access to online tools that let them view detailed breakdowns of their hourly electricity usage. In addition, CNT Energy held a successful series of workshops in the spring of 2008 to help participants learn about how they can manage their summer electricity costs with hourly pricing.

CNT Energy and the Ameren Illinois Utilities are also exploring new ways of giving customers easy access to information about hourly electricity prices. The Energy PriceLight Program is a special offering that uses additional funding secured by CNT Energy from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF). Selected PSP participants receive a “PriceLight”— a small orb that glows different colors based on the current estimated price of electricity. The PriceLight was piloted in an earlier CNT Energy program to see whether customers would modify their electricity consumption in response to the PriceLight display. The evaluation of that program showed that the PriceLight customers did have a higher elasticity than customers without the PriceLight.

The PriceLight receives a wireless radio signal and glows different colors to reflect the advisory hourly market prices of electricity. The PriceLight has a color spectrum that ranges from blue to green, yellow, orange, and red. The color spectrum does not indicate an exact price, but the color will indicate changes in the market. In general, the best time to use electricity is when the PriceLight displays cooler colors (blue and green). Warmer colors (orange and red) are meant to remind participants that prices are high, and to use their energy efficiently.

CNT Energy and the Ameren Illinois Utilities look forward to continuing to develop tools and services that will help customers benefit from their participation in the Power Smart Pricing program.