FAQs

100% Pure Option: When residential or small business customers enroll in the Pure Power 100% usage option, Ameren Missouri monitors their monthly energy usage and buys an equivalent amount of regional, Green-e Energy certified, Renewable Energy Certifictes (RECs) and retires them on behalf of the customers. Green-e Energy certification guarantees that your Pure Power premium supports renewable sources and keeps the economic and environmental benefits local.

Pure Power Block Option: As an alternative to the 100% Pure Power option, business or residential customers can sign up for the Pure Power "Block"* option. They choose how many 1,000 kilowatt-hour (kWh) blocks to buy each month. Each block costs $10, and customers can purchase as many blocks as they want.

Pure Power Half Block Option: Residential customers also have the option to purchase a single “Half Block.” This 500 kWh half block costs an additional $5.00 each month and is designed for customers who want to support the development of new renewable energy sources at a lower commitment level.

Participation in this program does not constitute the purchase of energy. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which represent the environmental attributes associated with past renewable energy generation, are retired on behalf of program participants. All RECs purchased under this program are Green-e certified by the independent Center for Resource Solutions.

*1 "Block" = 1 Renewable Energy Certificate = 1,000 kilowatt-hours

Pure Power participants pay an extra 1 cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity or purchase $10 "Blocks"* or $5.00 "Half Blocks" of power to support renewable energy.

Ameren Missouri customers can sign up for Pure Power by calling Customer Service at 800.552.7583 or by enrolling online. Pure Power charges will appear on your energy statement with the first meter reading of your next full billing cycle.

Your purchase of Renewable Energy Certficates (RECs) will appear on your regular energy statement as a separate line item labeled Pure Power; $5.00 for the half Block option, $10.00 per block for the Block option, or 1 cent per kWh for the Usage option.

*1 "Block" = 1 Renewable Energy Certificate = 1,000 kilowatt-hours

Ameren Missouri is responding to the desires of our customers, the importance of developing the regional economy, and our commitment to expanding the use of renewable resources in the Midwest. Plus, we think it is the right thing to do.

Historically, regulated electric utilities have been required by law to provide customers with least cost energy. While that protected the customer from high energy costs, it also made it more difficult for renewable energy facilities. Plenty of organizations were interested in supporting renewable energy above and beyond what their utilities were able to source, but there was no easy way for them to do so. Thus, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) were created in the late 1990’s to provide an easy way for companies or individuals to support renewable energy.  When you buy Renewable Energy Certificates, this creates an additional income stream to developers to help bolster the renewable energy industry, it proves that renewable energy was generated and added to the grid, and allows you to claim the environmental benefits of renewable energy. The incremental income provided by the REC market is one market instrument that helped to make renewable energy projects feasible.

In 2014 alone, 743,000 customers across the nation were participating in approximately 850 utility green pricing programs similar to Pure Power. Simply put, more demand equals more supply needed to meet that demand. By enrolling in Pure Power, you’ll join thousands of customers across the nation supporting the growth of renewable energy.

No. Renewable Portfolio Standards are part of the regulatory market and are mandated by the government. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) subscribed by this program will not count towards current or future mandates. Pure Power is a voluntary program that gives customers the option to be leaders in growth of local renewable energy above and beyond government regulations.

No. Ameren Missouri does not profit from this program.

Renewable energy is electricity produced from sources that replenish themselves naturally, never run out and are cleaner for the environment, including:

• Wind
• Solar
• Biomass/Biogas (Landfill and agricultural waste)
• Geothermal 
• Low-impact hydro (wave & tidal)

Ameren Missouri purchases 100% of the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for the Pure Power program from Midwest wind farms.

Pure Power makes it possible for customers to have a positive environmental impact in the region. Average residential customers who enroll for a year will reduce their carbon footprint from electricity use by 21,874 pounds of carbon emissions per year, the same as not driving a car for two years.* (source). 

Other environmental benefits of wind power include:

• Less impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels 
• Lower levels of air pollutants and wastewater
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions

*Environmental benefits are based on methodology outlined by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

No. Ameren Missouri will deliver reliable power to you over the regional electricity system. The power that travels through the network of lines and wires that bring electricity to your home or business comes from a variety of generating sources. Your support of Pure Power helps add more renewable energy sources to the regional electricity system and has no effect on the reliability of your power.

Renewable Energy Certificates(RECs), also known as “green tags,” are proof that 1 megawatt (MW) of renewable energy was generated and delivered to the regional power pool, and they represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects. RECs are sold separately from the electricity commodity.

For every unit of renewable energy generated and delivered to the regional power pool, an equivalent amount of RECs are created representing a tracking mechanism to insure that no two customers pay for the same unit of renewable energy generation. When you sign up for Pure Power, Ameren Missouri contracts for RECs to match the equivalent of your ongoing electrical needs or the number of Pure Power "Blocks" you elect to purchase. Thus, the more RECs that are sold, the more demand is created for renewable power. As renewable facilities sell out their RECs, demand shifts to bring more renewable energy sources online.

New renewable energy sources are being constructed across the United States to meet the demand created for renewable energy. Your purchase of RECs benefits the environment by encouraging greater renewable energy generation and displacing non-renewable generation from the electricity system.

RECs are traded daily but the pricing depends on many different variables, including traditional issues of supply and demand, what types of renewable resources apply to individual state compliance requirements, whether the purchase is made under a long-term contract versus on the spot market and the overall geographic origination of the facility. Even within the same geographical area and set technologies you can see a whole range of pricing during a short period of time. For example, Texas, a state with an abundant wind resource, has seen REC pricing below $1 and above $8 for the same product during different periods. On the high end, the Massachusetts market regularly trades in the $60 range. Pure Power focuses our REC sourcing om local facilities. Prices in this region have historically ranged anywhere from $1 to $20 for a Wind REC.

All of the RECs supported through Pure Power customers since 2010 have come from Missouri wind farms. Support of Missouri renewable energy will continue to be a priority and additional projects will likely be incorporated as the program grows.

As of 2014, there were approximately 850 programs with more than 743,000 customers subscribed to utility green pricing programs that are similar to Pure Power across the nation.

The voluntary market as a whole has resulted in 4,300 megawatts (MW) of new renewable capacity in 2007. According to the EIA (Energy Information Administration), about 9,000 MW of new renewable energy capacity was installed in the United States between 1997 and the end of 2005; thus, voluntary green power markets provide support for 22% of new renewable energy capacity additions, nationally.

Pure Power is a Green-e Energy Certified® program.

Green-e Energy was established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions to provide information and an objective standard for consumers to compare renewable energy options and to verify that consumers get what they pay for.

When you see the Green-e Energy logo, it means:

• The renewable energy option contains only new renewable resources;


• The renewable sources of energy supplying the Pure Power program are independently verified by Green-e Energy, operated by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions;


• The purchaser of a Green-e Energy Certified renewable energy certificate is the sole "owner" of the environmental attributes of a specific megawatthour (MWh) of energy added to the grid. Independent verification ensures that no MWh are double-counted.


• The company offering the certified renewable energy option agrees to abide by the Green-e Energy Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements governing its ethical treatment of customers.

• Achieve clean energy or sustainability goals
• Easy and simple way to support green energy
• Receive marketing benefits
• Earn LEED points for green building projects