ST.
LOUIS, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) released its latest climate report
aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. The report highlights actions
the company is taking to manage climate-related risks and
transition to a cleaner energy future, achieving net-zero carbon
emissions by 2045.
"Climate change is a critical issue for our customers, our
communities, our nation and our planet, and we are committed to
doing our part. That's why we have taken an even more aggressive
approach to address climate impacts," said Marty Lyons, president and chief executive
officer of Ameren Corporation. "In 2022 we accelerated our goal of
achieving net-zero carbon emissions by five years, from 2050 to
2045 – all while safeguarding energy affordability, reliability and
resiliency for our customers."
The report includes scenario analysis evaluating the alignment
of Ameren's current science-based carbon emissions reduction
targets, as outlined in its Integrated Resource Plan. Ameren's
emissions reduction targets are consistent with the objectives of
the Paris Agreement and limiting global temperature rise to no more
than 1.5°C. The analysis shows that Ameren's approach falls well
within the range of scenarios that are aligned with this goal.
"As the climate risk landscape continues to evolve, we will work
collaboratively with our key stakeholders so we can achieve our
net-zero carbon emissions goal and preserve our shared
environment," said Gwen
Mizell, chief sustainability, diversity and philanthropy
officer at Ameren. "We will continue to report on our progress
toward this goal so we can reach Ameren's vision of a sustainable
energy future for our region."
Notable changes since the May 2021
report include:
- Achieving a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and an
85% carbon emissions reduction by 2040, based on 2005 levels.
- Adding 2,400 megawatts (MW) of new clean renewable generation
by 2030, and a total of 5,400 MW by 2040.
- Advancing the retirement of three of four coal-fired energy
centers by 2030, with all coal retired by 2042.
- Targeting a 95% reduction in water withdrawal by 2045, based on
a 2005 baseline.
- Making infrastructure investments to promote the adoption of
electric vehicles and electric public transportation, including
electrifying 35% of Ameren's vehicle fleet by 2030.
Ameren's climate report is one of several environmental reports
the company publishes. Read the full reports at
AmerenInvestors.com.
About Ameren Corporation
St.
Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life
for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural
gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren
Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries.
Ameren Illinois provides electric transmission and distribution
service and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Missouri
provides electric generation, transmission and distribution
services, as well as natural gas distribution service. Ameren
Transmission Company of Illinois
operates a rate-regulated electric transmission business in the
Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. For more
information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us on Twitter at
@AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or
LinkedIn.com/company/Ameren.
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 within Risk Factors in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 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 ruling 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 Missouri Public
Service Commission (MoPSC) staff review of the planned Rush Island
Energy Center retirement, Ameren Missouri's electric service
regulatory rate review filed in August
2022 with the MoPSC, the August
2022 United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit ruling that vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission's (FERC) Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
(MISO) return-on-equity (ROE)-determining orders and remanded the
proceedings to the FERC, the July
2020 appeal filed by Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and
Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATXI) challenging the FERC's
rehearing denials in the transmission formula rate revision cases,
Ameren Illinois' electric distribution service rate reconciliation
request filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC )in
April 2022, and Ameren Illinois'
annual electric energy-efficiency formula rate update filed with
the ICC in June 2022;
- the effect on Ameren Missouri of any customer rate caps or
limitations to increases to the electric service revenue
requirement pursuant to Ameren Missouri's election to use the
plant-in-service accounting regulatory mechanism;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and
other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, foreign
trade, and energy policies;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws or
rates, including as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
as well as additional regulations, interpretations, amendments, or
technical corrections to or in connection with the IRA, and
challenges to the tax positions taken by the Ameren companies, 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;
- the effectiveness of Ameren Missouri's customer
energy-efficiency programs and the related revenues and performance
incentives earned under its Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment
Act programs;
- Ameren Illinois' ability to achieve the performance standards
applicable to its electric distribution business and electric
customer energy-efficiency goals and the resulting impact on its
allowed ROE;
- 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 cost and availability of fuel, such as low-sulfur coal,
natural gas, and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the
cost and availability of natural gas for distribution and purchased
power, including capacity, zero emission credits, renewable energy
credits, emission allowances; and the level and volatility of
future market prices for such commodities and credits;
- disruptions in the delivery of fuel, failure of our fuel
suppliers to provide adequate quantities or quality of fuel, or
lack of adequate inventories of fuel, including nuclear fuel
assemblies from the one Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed
supplier of such assemblies for Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy
Center;
- the cost and availability of transmission capacity for the
energy generated by Ameren Missouri's energy centers or required to
satisfy Ameren Missouri's energy sales;
- 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 and data security risks 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, economic, and capital market conditions, including
the impact of such conditions on interest rates, inflation, and
investments;
- disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in credit
metrics of the Ameren companies, 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;
- 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 obligations that are affected by supply
chain disruptions;
- the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on
us and our customers, including the impact of system outages and
the level of wind and solar resources;
- the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery
of generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
- the effects of failures of electric generation, electric and
natural gas transmission or distribution, or natural gas storage
facilities systems and equipment, which could result in
unanticipated liabilities or unplanned outages;
- the operation of Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center,
including planned and unplanned outages, as well as the ability to
recover costs associated with such outages and the impact of such
outages on off-system sales and purchased power, among other
things;
- 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 provisions of the Clean Air Act and
CO2, 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 and Illinois and with the zero emission standard
in Illinois;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to construct and/or acquire wind,
solar, and other renewable energy generation facilities and battery
storage, as well as natural gas-fired combined cycle energy
centers, 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;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to use or transfer federal production
and investment tax credits related to renewable energy projects;
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 operators
at an acceptable cost for each facility;
- advancements in energy technologies, including carbon capture,
utilization, and sequestration, hydrogen fuel for electric
production and energy storage, next generation nuclear, and
large-scale long-cycle battery energy storage, 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 ESG practices;
- the impact of adopting new accounting guidance;
- the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers,
acquisitions, and divestitures;
- legal and administrative proceedings;
- the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, related sanctions imposed by the U.S.
and other governments, and any broadening of the conflict,
including potential impacts on the cost and availability of fuel,
natural gas, enriched uranium, and other commodities, materials,
and services, the inability of our counterparties to perform their
obligations, disruptions in the capital and credit markets, and
other impacts on business, economic, and geopolitical conditions,
including inflation; 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 Corporation