Starting this week, Ameren Missouri customers will receive a different monthly statement than they are used to. Customers will now receive a full page, monthly energy statement that will take the place of their traditional postcard bill.
Ameren Missouri spokesperson Lisa Manzo said the new statement includes information that customers can use to better manage their utility bills. The new energy statement is similar in look and format to Ameren Missouri's personal energy report, which the company has sent out every spring for the past several years.
The statement will include information on the customer's current bill and balance as well as a graph or chart summary of their utility usage. The statement will also include a history of their utility usage and an energy efficiency tip, which will be specific to the type of utility service or services the customer has. The back of the statement will list account messages and additional information about Ameren's services.
After customers received their personal energy report each spring, they had the option of submitting a survey to Ameren. Through that feedback, customers told Ameren they wanted the information on the personal energy report more frequently than once a year.
Tara Oglesby, assistant vice president of Ameren Missouri Customer Experience, said that's why Ameren first considered adding personal usage information to the monthly bill. Before deciding what information to include, Oglesby said Ameren Missouri received further feedback from thousands of customers through surveys, 22 focus groups, online panels and phone surveys.
"We really ended up partnering with them (customers) in the development of the new statement," Oglesby said.
They asked customers what information they wanted to see on a monthly basis. She said in the feedback their received, customers most liked the usage comparison portion of the personal energy report and wanted to see that on a more regular basis.
Oglesby said Ameren is excited to provide customers information that could help them better manage their energy usage. Ameren Missouri's one million residential and small business customers will start receiving the new statement this week.
Oglesby said Ameren encourages customers to sign up for paperless billing. The information on the monthly energy statement will be included on both paper and electronic bills.