Heat pumps helping residents combat electric rate increases

CHAMPAIGN – For Jason Smith, his winter heating bills came as a shock.

Smith, an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, lives in the 3-year-old Ashland Park subdivision in north Champaign with his wife. Up until January, the couple had no problems with heating bills, which averaged in the low $100 range, he said.

But with the Jan. 1 electric rate increase by AmerenIP – which saw rates quadruple for people who heat with electricity – Smith's subsequent winter bills were averaging more than $500.

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