Company estimates 6.5 million minutes of
customer outages avoided last year
ST.
LOUIS, Feb. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren
Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE), filed its
updated Smart Energy Plan with the Missouri Public Service
Commission today. The $9.9 billion
investment plan will support reliability of the grid and modernize
infrastructure. The company is investing in smart technology,
stronger poles, upgraded power lines and other infrastructure to
upgrade aging infrastructure, reduce outages and respond faster
when they do occur. The Smart Energy Plan also helps prepare the
grid to bring on new energy sources such as renewables and includes
incentives to attract new businesses.
"We continue to incorporate technology that improves system
reliability. Smart Energy Plan investments have prevented an
estimated 50,000 customer outages over the last two years. We know
that makes a difference for our customers at home and at work,"
said Mark Birk, chairman and
president of Ameren Missouri. "With the expansion and extension of
the Smart Energy Plan, we will be able to provide a more resilient,
reliable and sustainable energy system for generations to
come."
Supporting Reliability
The Smart Energy Plan provides
direct customer benefits by upgrading aging foundational grid
infrastructure, including poles, wires, substations,
transformers and underground cables. The plan also deploys smart
technology to support reliability and resiliency of the electric
grid, and smart meters to provide customized energy usage data to
customers. Last year, over 6.5 million minutes of customer
outages were avoided due to these investments. Smart Energy Plan
upgrades through 2022 include:
- 1,178 smart switches to reduce outages from hours to minutes
and even seconds.
- 75 new or upgraded substations to better serve
communities.
- 170 miles of upgraded power lines, improving storm resiliency
and providing more flexibility to reroute power during an
outage.
- 772,000 smart meters to provide two-way communication and
deliver more precise energy use information to customers.
Ameren Missouri is running a full year ahead of schedule to
install smart electric meters across the service territory. Thanks
to the data smart meters provide, Ameren Missouri now offers
customers a new online Energy Manager interactive dashboard showing
the specific estimated energy usage of each appliance. It provides
personalized savings recommendations based on individual usage data
and surveys. The new meters also identify outages even faster to
speed restoration.
Investing in Communities
More than 100,000
Missouri residents are enjoying
greater energy reliability thanks to the completion of the Metro
South Reliability Project. The project included construction of two
new transmission towers on both sides of the Mississippi River.
Each tower stands 294 feet tall – roughly the height of the Statue
of Liberty – and weighs 500,000
pounds. The project created a second power supply to help prevent
outages and increase energy capacity. The rebuilt line
supports grid reliability, meets local energy needs and provides
access to energy sources, including renewables. This project also
enabled a seamless transition for customers when the Meramec Energy
Center was retired at the end of 2022.
Downtown St. Louis is also
seeing improvements that support reliability. Ameren Missouri
recently completed one of its last projects to install new
conduit under the streets of downtown St. Louis. The next step is to install new
cables through the conduit, which will improve reliability for
residents, businesses and visitors for decades to come. This system
will be one of the first in the nation to have smart technology in
a downtown environment that helps reduce outages for customers.
In Jefferson City, the Idlewood
substation was upgraded with automated sensors and smart technology
to create a system that more rapidly detects and isolates outages,
speeding power restoration. This project supports reliability for
over 2,400 customers in the area. Upgraded substations offer
greater service reliability for customers to meet their growing
energy needs long into the future.
Powering the Local Economy
"The Smart Energy Plan
supports a reliable and resilient energy grid while investing in
the economic future of Missouri,"
said Birk. "Construction, engineering, and planning jobs are
needed to build each project associated with the Smart Energy Plan.
As part of the plan, we are helping companies expand and relocate
to the area with our economic development incentives."
Economic development incentives encourage businesses to invest
or expand in Missouri, adding jobs
and supporting local communities statewide. In 2022, 16 businesses
announced plans to move to or expand in our state, thanks in part
to these incentives. This has resulted in more than $450 million in capital investment in
Missouri by those businesses, and
1,000 additional Missouri jobs.
The economic development incentive has helped companies large and
small, such as Chick-fil-A Supply and Clementine's Naughty and Nice
Creamery.
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.
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SOURCE Ameren Missouri