Energy News

Watch out for calls from energy companies claiming they are someone they are NOT.

Over the past few months you may have noticed more and more callers who are trying to capture your energy business. BE CAREFUL. Some of these callers are misrepresenting themselves and giving you wrong information.

Often times they are putting "Ameren" or "Constellation" in front of their own name and trying to make you think they are affiliated with the utility or some other retail supplier such as Constellation. This is most likely FALSE. Always ask for proper company identification before you share any information about your District. Ameren and Constellation issue company IDs to all their employees.

The only companies who have a legal right to use “Ameren” or “Constellation” in their names are Ameren Energy Marketing and Constellation NewEnergy – Gas Division and their respective affiliates. Both of these companies are Program Administrators for the IEC. Any other company is misrepresenting themselves. The IEC has always believed in full disclosure and transparency. This has been in practice since day one of the consortium.

Another ruse is to employ high pressure sales tactics. Claiming you only have a few days to sign with them or something horrible will happen – like you won't have a supplier at all. This too is FALSE. And this is a practice you will never encounter when dealing with the IEC.

If you receive a call or unscheduled visit from anyone you think might be misrepresenting themselves, or using questionable tactics, you can report them to your local utility (like Ameren Illinois, ComEd, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, MidAmerican, etc).

Ameren IL Utilities is also working with the Illinois Commerce Commission to identify suppliers using unethical practices so they can be stopped. As mentioned before, make sure to ask for proper identification of any caller or visitor including the full name of company he or she purports to represent. If in doubt, take note of their phone number and verify it with the utility or our contacts at Constellation or Ameren Energy Marketing.

For additional questions or concerns, you can also contact the IEC Program Administrators for assistance:

Ameren Energy Marketing – Tonya Powell at 314.613.9120

Constellation NewEnergy – Gas Division – Liz Peronto at 888.579.6600

Additional information and suggestions will be posted as available at www.illec.org.

Events

Illinois Energy Consortium Workshops
Registration begins at 8:30am. Workshops will conclude by 12:00pm.

Mail/Fax regristration form: Click Here
To register online: Click Here

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - 8:30 am
Hilton Garden Inn
445 Riverstone Pkwy.
Kankakee, IL 60901 815.932.4444

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 8:30 am
Holiday Inn Express
5253 Trumpeter Rd.
Peru, IL 61354
815.224.2500

Monday, January 30, 2012 - 8:30 am
DoubleTree Suites
2111 Butterfield Rd.
Downers Grove, IL 60515 630.971.1168

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 8:30 am
Ramada Airport Conference Center
6902 27th St.
Moline, IL 61265
309.762.8811

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 8:30 am
Hilton Garden Inn
7675 Walton St.
Rockford, IL 61108
815.229.3322

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 1:00 pm
DoubleTree Suites
75 W. Algonquin Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847.364.7600

Tuesday, February 13, 2012 - 8:30 am
DoubleTree Suites
9599 Skokie Blvd.
Skokie, IL 60077
847.649.7000

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 - 8:30 am
Holiday Inn
411 S. Larkin Ave.
Joliet, IL 60436
815.729.2000

Illinois ASBO
Annual Conference
May 16-18, 2012
Peoria Civic Center,
Peoria, IL

For a list of all events,
visit the calendar section.