ST. LOUIS, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Business customers throughout AmerenUE's service territory now have $24 million in incentives available to them to help them save electricity -- and money. UE's new Business Energy Efficiency Program gives any non-residential customer planning to purchase and install qualifying energy efficiency upgrades incentives to cover the cost of making those improvements. "This program is one of the best ways to help customers in an economic downturn upgrade their facilities to reduce their energy use and monthly bills," says Steve Kidwell, VP of Regulatory Affairs and Energy Efficiency for UE. "In turn, this program will help UE reduce the demand on its system allowing us to defer building more generation and, therefore, saving money for all energy consumers." Incentive levels are subject to program guidelines. Customers may get current program information, including incentive forms, by calling 866- 941-7299 or by visiting http://www.ameren.com/BIZefficiency. The Business Energy Efficiency Program currently offers two types of incentives: -- The Standard Incentive Program participant can earn a fixed amount of cash for installing typical energy efficiency measures that meet UE's cost-effectiveness requirements, including: -- Lighting -- Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) -- Refrigeration -- Motors Upgrades costing more than $10,000 must receive pre-approval for incentives. Customers should call 866-941-7299 for those pre- approvals. -- Custom Incentive Program participants will receive cash based on estimated energy savings that result from energy efficiency improvements on existing facilities. Included are energy efficient equipment retrofits, facility modernization or industrial process improvements. The incentive may not exceed 50 percent of the total approved incremental project cost. All Custom Incentive Program projects require pre-approval. Customers should call 866-941-7299 for those pre-approvals. To be eligible for Business Energy Efficiency Program funds, all qualifying equipment must be purchased and installed no earlier than Feb. 11, 2009. The maximum annual incentive per individual site is $250,000, and the maximum annual incentive per individual customer is $500,000. With 1.2 million customers, UE is Missouri's largest electric company and third largest provider of natural gas. UE's parent, Ameren Corporation, through its operating companies, serves 2.4 million electric and 1 million natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area of Illinois and Missouri. DATASOURCE: AmerenUE CONTACT: St. Louis, Susan Gallagher, +1-314-554-2175, or Outstate MO, Mike Cleary, +1-573-681-7137, both of AmerenUE Web site: http://www.ameren.com/

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