SPRINGFIELD | More than six months after Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved a settlement meant to curb rising electric rates, a key part of the deal remains unsettled.

A settlement Ameren, ComEd and others reached with the state required the two utilities to send credits back to customers and also credit their bills in the future.

The settlement also created the Illinois Power Agency, a small state group charged with trying to prevent drastic rate hikes in the future.

State law requires the agency to come up with its first plans to do that this year, but right now, no one works there.

Blagojevich is charged with appointing an agency director, but hasn't yet. Some are asking why not.

"Any further delay could jeopardize the critical planning process laid out in the Act and increase the cost of electricity for Illinois ratepayers in 2009," said Robyn Ziegler, a spokesman for state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who helped broker the original deal.

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, said he wished lawmakers could make the appointments, but admits finding a director could be tough. State law outlines strict qualifications the director must meet.

"You're not talking about a large group of people who would meet the criteria to begin with," he said.

Lawmakers and Madigan last year argued that the way Ameren and ComEd bought electricity to later sell to customers was flawed, leading to inflated costs. The Illinois Power Agency is supposed to come up with better methods and oversee the process.

As part of the settlement, Ameren and ComEd customers have received credits on their monthly bills since last year. Those credits decreased in value in January, and will continue to go down periodically until they're eventually eliminated.

-- Mike Riopell can be reached at mike.riopell@lee.net or (217) 789-0865.