Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – During the most recent winter storm, Winter Storm Fern, the conditions got pretty serious, however, despite the extreme cold, wind, and heavy snowfall, Ameren Illinois’ natural gas storage system served as a buffer between customers and market price spikes – As a result, Ameren saved families and businesses from enduring the heavy cost increases that hit other regions.

There would need to be several procedures and plans in place to outlast a winter storm like Fern, Ameren Illinois has a great plan for storing enough gas to get through winter, and to also help sustain reliability and affordability.

Brad Kloeppel, Senior Director of Natural Gas Operations and Technical Services for Ameren Illinois, spoke on the WTAX Morning Newswatch, and explained what their procedure for making it through winter entails, how they save customers money, and what the reason behind some of the charges, other than for usage, you will see on your gas or electric bill.

“We can store up to fifty percent of our winter supply underground in Illinois, before the first day of winter. Typically, there’s really 3 major components to the benefits that provides. Natural gas is used for heating, so in the summertime, demand is really low on the system, and prices are also generally low. So, in Illinois we have favorable geology where we can take the cheaper gas we buy in the summer, and store it underground, and have it waiting for winter to come around.” Kloeppel stated.

” In the north we had these really high winds and cold temperatures, so there were some concerns that we would see some freezing in the pipes that come out of the ground and we didn’t see any of that. In the south we had a lot of snow, and that creates its own set of problems. The system really performed great, and our guys our field workers, they have to man these stations twenty-four seven during these extreme cold conditions, and through their efforts, we were able to save our customers seventy-eight point two million dollars.”

On your gas and electric bill, you may have seen “Energy Delivery Charges” and also “Energy Supply Charges” and there is a reason these charges exist.

“In Illinois we only distribute the power and the natural gas. So, we have to buy the power, or the customers have to buy their power from somebody who is also purchasing it through the Illinois Power Authority. On the natural gas side, it’s a little more wide open and we can purchase from any supplier that we want. Multiple suppliers are actually some of the big names that you’ve heard, like B.P. and Conoco down in Texas. We buy gas from Canada and bring it down. We buy gas from all over the country and bring it down here from wherever we can find it the cheapest.” Kloeppel explained.

Those charges are simply a result of the company providing you your gas or power needing to also pay for supplies to offer to their customers.