ST. LOUIS, Feb. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Missouri, a
subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), filed its updated
Smart Energy Plan with the Missouri Public Service Commission
today, describing the company's plan to invest $8.4 billion primarily on grid modernization
efforts over the next five years. Projects include investments in
upgrading aging infrastructure, automated technology, stronger
poles and upgraded power lines that benefit customers by reducing
outages, restoring power faster. Projects also build and bolster
the infrastructure needed to support more clean, renewable energy
generation.
"Thanks to the Smart Energy Plan, we have been able to replace
aging infrastructure and invest in a more resilient, reliable and
sustainable energy system for our customers," said Mark Birk, president of Ameren Missouri.
"These are changes that many of our customers can see today. With
thousands of upgrades completed, we've improved reliability by up
to 40% where we have installed smart technology. And our customers
will continue to see improvements as more upgrades are completed
across our 24,000-square-mile system."
Helping the local economy
A more modern energy grid
also provides benefits to the local economy by creating
engineering, planning and construction jobs and increasing orders
with Missouri suppliers to provide
many of the needed materials. In 2021, Ameren Missouri spent
$438 million with Missouri vendors and contractors to complete
Smart Energy Plan projects.
The plan also includes economic development incentives to help
attract and retain Missouri
businesses. As a result of these incentives, 30 companies have
chosen to move to Missouri or
expand their footprint here since 2019, providing 4,600 new
jobs and retaining 4,200 jobs in local communities and
contributing another $2.7 billion
in new capital investments to Missouri's economy.
Increasing reliability for customers
Ameren Missouri
customers have benefited from thousands of completed projects since
the passage of the Smart Energy Plan that create a smarter and more
reliable energy grid. These include:
- 750 smart equipment switches to reduce outages from
hours to minutes and even seconds.
- 41 new or upgraded substations to better serve
communities.
- 463,000 smart meters to provide two-way communication
with Ameren Missouri and deliver more precise energy use
information to customers.
- 115 miles of upgraded power lines providing more ability
to reroute power during an outage.
Making a difference around Missouri
Customers are seeing the
positive impact of these projects. In Hayti, a new sub-transmission line was
installed using stronger wires that are twisted together to reduce
ice buildup and defuse high winds. The new line, in combination
with new composite utility poles, helped prevent damage when a
tornado ripped through southeast Missouri in December.
Another primary focus of the Smart Energy Plan has been to
upgrade or build new substations. The improved substations feature
transformers, automated sensors and smart switches that improve
reliability, rapidly detect outages and minimize outage times so
power can be restored to customers faster. These more modern
substations are now benefiting communities in Center City,
Florissant, Creve Coeur and Benton. Other
smart equipment, such as a distribution device called a "Viper
Switch" located in communities including Foristell, also helps detect outages and
reroutes power when possible – sometimes speeding power restoration
from hours to seconds.
New smart meters provide two-way communication between the
customer's meter and Ameren Missouri's upgraded network. This
benefits customers by providing improved reliability, faster outage
response and the convenience of managing energy usage online or
through a mobile app. Smart meters will continue to be rolled
out to all Ameren Missouri customers over the next two years.
"As our updated Smart Energy Plan shows, we're committed to
continuing these projects to enhance Missouri's energy grid over the next several
years," Birk said. "These are investments that will have a direct
impact on the lives of our customers and communities and will
ultimately enable us to meet the needs of a more sustainable energy
future."
The Smart Energy Plan began in 2018 with the passage of new
energy legislation by the Missouri General Assembly. To learn more,
visit AmerenMissouri.com/Plan.
Editor's Note: For more examples of how the Smart Energy Plan is
helping Missouri see our 2021
Progress Report.
About Ameren Missouri
Ameren Missouri has been
providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the
company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren
Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2
million electric and 132,000 natural gas customers in central and
eastern Missouri. The company's
service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities,
including the greater St. Louis
area. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us on Twitter at
@AmerenMissouri or Facebook.com/AmerenMissouri.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this release
not based on historical facts are considered "forward-looking" and,
accordingly, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those discussed. Although
such forward-looking statements have been made in good faith and
are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that the
expected results will be achieved. These statements include
(without limitation) statements as to future expectations, beliefs,
plans, projections, strategies, targets, estimates, objectives,
events, conditions, and financial performance. In connection with
the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, we are providing this cautionary statement to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated. The following factors, in
addition to those discussed under Risk Factors in Ameren's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended September 30,
2021, and elsewhere in this release and in our other filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual
results to differ materially from management expectations suggested
in such forward- looking statements:
- regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, and any changes
in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations, that may
change regulatory recovery mechanisms, such as those that may
result from the impact of a final judgment to be issued by
the United States Court for the
Eastern District of Missouri
regarding its September 2019 remedy
order for the Rush Island Energy Center, the July 2020 appeal filed by Ameren Missouri, Ameren
Illinois, and Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATXI) challenging the refund period
related to the FERC's May 2020 order
determining the allowed base return on common equity (ROE) under
the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) tariff, and the
July 2020 appeal filed by Ameren
Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and ATXI challenging the FERC's
rehearing denials in the transmission formula rate revision
cases;
- the length and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its
impacts on our business continuity plans and our results of
operations, financial position, and liquidity, including but not
limited to: changes in customer demand resulting in changes to
sales volumes; customers' payment for our services and their use of
deferred payment arrangements; the health, welfare, and
availability of our workforce and contractors; supplier
disruptions; delays in the completion of construction projects,
which could impact our expected capital expenditures and rate base
growth; changes in how we operate our business and increased data
security risks as a result of remote working arrangements for a
significant portion of our workforce; and our ability to access the
capital markets on reasonable terms and when needed;
- the effect on Ameren Missouri's investment plan and earnings if
an extension to use PISA is not
sought by Ameren Missouri or approved by the Missouri Public
Service Commission (MoPSC);
- the effect on Ameren Missouri of any customer rate caps
pursuant to Ameren Missouri's election to use the plant-in-service
accounting (PISA), including an
extension of use beyond 2023, if requested by Ameren Missouri and
approved by the MoPSC;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and
other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and energy
policies;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws,
regulations, interpretations, or rates, and challenges to the tax
positions we have taken, if any, as well as resulting effects on
customer rates;
- the effects on energy prices and demand for our services
resulting from technological advances, including advances in
customer energy efficiency, electric vehicles, electrification of
various industries, energy storage, and private generation sources,
which generate electricity at the site of consumption and are
becoming more cost-competitive;
- our ability to control costs and make substantial investments
in our businesses, including our ability to recover costs and
investments, and to earn our allowed ROEs, within frameworks
established by our regulators, while maintaining affordability of
our services for our customers;
- the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use
of financial and derivative instruments;
- the ability to obtain sufficient insurance, or in the absence
of insurance, the ability to timely recover uninsured losses from
our customers;
- the impact of cyberattacks on us or our suppliers, which could,
among other things, result in the loss of operational control of
energy centers and electric and natural gas transmission and
distribution systems and/or the loss of data, such as customer,
employee, financial, and operating system information;
- business and economic conditions, which have been affected by,
and will be affected by the length and severity of, the COVID-19
pandemic, including the impact of such conditions on interest rates
and inflation;
- disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in our credit
metrics, or other events that may have an adverse effect on the
cost or availability of capital, including short-term credit and
liquidity;
- the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such
actions, including any impacts on our credit ratings that may
result from the economic conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic;
- the inability of our counterparties to meet their obligations
with respect to contracts, credit agreements, and financial
instruments, including as they relate to the construction and
acquisition of electric and natural gas utility infrastructure and
the ability of counterparties to complete projects which is
dependent upon the availability of necessary materials and
equipment, including those that are affected by disruptions in the
global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;
- the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery
of generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to recover the remaining investment
and decommissioning costs associated with the retirement of an
energy center, as well as the ability to earn a return on that
remaining investment and those decommissioning costs;
- the impact of current environmental laws and new, more
stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to the
New Source Review and carbon dioxide, other emissions and
discharges, Illinois emission
standards, cooling water intake structures, coal combustion
residuals, energy efficiency, and wildlife protection, that could
limit or terminate the operation of certain of Ameren Missouri's
energy centers, increase our operating costs or investment
requirements, result in an impairment of our assets, cause us to
sell our assets, reduce our customers' demand for electricity or
natural gas, or otherwise have a negative financial effect;
- the impact of complying with renewable energy standards in
Missouri;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to construct and/or acquire wind,
solar, and other renewable energy generation facilities, retire
energy centers, and implement new or existing customer energy
efficiency programs, including any such construction, acquisition,
retirement, or implementation in connection with its Smart Energy
Plan, integrated resource plan, or emissions reduction goals, and
to recover its cost of investment, related return, and in the case
of customer energy-efficiency programs, any lost margins in a
timely manner, which is affected by the ability to obtain all
necessary regulatory and project approvals, including certificates
of convenience and necessity from the MoPSC or any other required
approvals for the addition of renewable resources;
- the availability of federal production and investment tax
credits related to renewable energy and Ameren Missouri's ability
to use such credits; the cost of wind, solar, and other renewable
generation and storage technologies; and our ability to obtain
timely interconnection agreements with the MISO or other regional
transmission organizations at an acceptable cost for each
facility;
- advancements in carbon-free generation and storage
technologies, and the impact of constructive federal and state
energy and economic policies with respect to those
technologies;
- labor disputes, work force reductions, changes in future wage
and employee benefits costs, including those resulting from changes
in discount rates, mortality tables, returns on benefit plan
assets, and other assumptions;
- the impact of negative opinions of us or our utility services
that our customers, investors, legislators, regulators or other
stakeholders may have or develop, which could result from a variety
of factors, including failures in system reliability, failure to
implement our investment plans or to protect sensitive customer
information, increases in rates, negative media coverage, or
concerns about environmental, social, and/or governance
practices;
- the impact of adopting new accounting guidance;
- the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers,
acquisitions, and divestitures;
- legal and administrative proceedings; and
- acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, or other intentionally
disruptive acts.
New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for
management to predict all of such factors, nor can it assess the
impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which
any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained or implied in any
forward-looking statement. Given these uncertainties, undue
reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements.
Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, we
undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-
looking statements to reflect new information or future events.
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SOURCE Ameren Missouri