AMERENUE PLANS TO OFFER INTERNET BILLING, COLLECTIONS

Ameren Corp. is about to make bill payment a complete, non-paper, electronic round-trip for some of its customers.

AmerenUE customers in Missouri and AmerenCIPS customers in Illinois may soon be able to view and pay their bills online. The Ameren Web site will use E-Bill technology from CheckFree Corp.

Ameren, headquartered at St. Louis, provides electric, gas and stream heating services to as many as 1.8 million homes in portions of Missouri and Illinois.

The utility company seeks variances from two Missouri Public Service Commission rules. One of the rules states that "rendition of a bill means the mailing or hand delivery of a bill by a utility to a customer." The PSC also has a rule limits "budget billing" to postcard bill customers.

AmerenUE wants permission to deliver to residential electric and gas customers and to electric gas customers under budget billing, an electronic image of a bill through the use of the Internet, instead of mailing or hand delivering a bill.

The request for variances were filed by Ameren attorney Michael F. Barnes earlier this month.

There is no time table for a ruling by the PSC, said Barnes Monday.

Meanwhile, Ameren and CheckFree have agreed to a program to provide the financial electronic transaction process.

Ameren customers will be able to visit an Ameren Web site to both receive and pay bills electronically on their personal computers. Under the program, which is voluntary and free, certain customers with access to the Internet can enroll in the program.

As part of the enrollment process, the customers will select identification numbers and passwords to prevent others from viewing bills. Once everything is verified between the company, customer and CheckFree, the customers will no longer receive a bill in the mail, unless it is requested.

In submitting the request to the PSC, Barnes cited some reasons for the request.

* Customers will receive their bills faster through the Internet than by mail.

* Through the use of passwords and other security controls, the confidentiality of bills will be maintained at well as through the mail.

* Ameren, even after it pays CheckFree for its services, will save in printing and mailing costs.

* Because of the growth of the Internet and e-commerce, service providers such as Ameren and customers are becoming more comfortable with billing via the Internet.

Paying bills just got easier and more convenient for Ameren customers, said an Ameren spokesman.

"We think our customers who choose to use the CheckFree E-Bill service will find it very efficient and easy to use," he said.

Ameren is one of a growing number of U.S. companies to offer electronic bill payment to its consumers.

Other companies working with CheckFree to offer electronic billing programs include AT &T, BellSouth and the Small Business Administration.

CheckFree, founded in 1981, is a leading provider of electronic commerce services, software and related products for more than 2.5 million consumers, 1,000 businesses and 850 financial institutions.