Act On Energy Makes Energy Efficiency Easy and Fun for Illinois State Fair Visitors

Act On Energy Makes Energy Efficiency Easy and Fun for Illinois State Fair
Visitors
Ameren Illinois Utilities Customers Can Receive $35 Now, Save $100 in a Year

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Illinois State Fair
visitors will discover that energy efficiency can be easy, fun and save them
money when they visit the Ameren Illinois Utilities (AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO,
AmerenIP) Act On Energy(R) exhibit located in Conservation World through Aug.
23.

Ameren Illinois Utilities (AIU) electric customers will discover that savings
can begin with just one phone call. AIU will pay an electric customer $35 for
a standard size refrigerator or freezer manufactured before 1993. The
appliance must be operating and used as a secondary unit located in a garage
or basement.

"Those old refrigerators and freezers out in garages and down in basements
waste a lot of energy," said Karen Warnke, Ameren Illinois Utilities Customer
Service energy efficiency advisor. "A standard size secondary refrigerator
might cost $100 or more a year to operate."

Eligible Ameren Illinois Utilities electric customers should call
1-866-899-9088 to schedule a pickup of their refrigerator or freezer. The call
center is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on
Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Fairgoers also will be able to learn how much energy various common electrical
devices and appliances use. With this information, consumers can better manage
their energy usage by identifying the energy hogs and phantom loads in their
homes.

Many appliances and devices continue to use electricity even when they are
turned off or left in the sleep mode, creating what is known as a phantom
load. Televisions, computers, cable modems, printers and DVD players are among
the most common sources of phantom loads.

It is estimated that phantom loads cost American households $100 or more a
year, depending on the number of appliances and devices in the household.
Phantom loads can be eliminated by unplugging devices and appliances or by
using a power strip with an on/off switch.

Consumers also will learn the advantages of replacing older, inefficient
appliances and electrical devices with those that are ENERGY STAR qualified.

The AIU exhibit also features an interactive natural gas safety display that
allows children to dig in a sand box complete with utility markers. The
exhibit shows young and old alike the importance of recognizing and avoiding
underground utility lines.

AIU customers will be able to enroll in the direct billing program and get the
answers to their energy questions.

Visitors will have a chance to win an environmentally friendly reusable
grocery bag when the play AIU's compact fluorescent light (CFL) bean bag game.

Complete information about AIU's Act On Energy program, including energy
conservation tips, is available at ActOnEnergy.com.

The Ameren Illinois Utilities (AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO, AmerenIP) have been
providing safe, reliable energy delivery service for more than a century. The
Ameren Illinois Utilities deliver energy to 1.2 million electric and 840,000
natural gas customers in more than 1,200 communities within a
43,700-square-mile service territory.

SOURCE Ameren Illinois Utilities

Leigh Morris, +1-217-535-5228, or Neal Johnson, +1-309-677-5284, both of
Ameren Illinois Utilities