Ameren Missouri unveils plan to enable economic growth, boost reliability and create jobs in the state

Rhea-AI Summary

Ameren Missouri (NYSE: AEE) has announced significant updates to its generation strategy and Smart Energy Plan. The company's revised Preferred Resource Plan aims to provide 1.5 GW of new energy demand by 2032, supported by a $16.2 billion, five-year Smart Energy Plan for infrastructure modernization.

Key components include building 1,600 MW of natural gas generation by 2030 (expanding to 6,100 MW by 2045), adding 2,700 MW of wind and solar energy by 2030 (reaching 4,200 MW by 2045), deploying 1,000 MW of battery storage by 2030, and planning 1,500 MW of new nuclear energy by 2045. The plan represents an additional investment opportunity of $5 billion by 2030 and $7 billion by 2035.

The Smart Energy Plan's 2024 achievements include 134 new/upgraded substations, 250 miles of upgraded subtransmission lines, and 1.3 million smart meters installation. Smart switch technology saved customers 8 million minutes in outages in 2024. The company attracted over $3.1 billion in planned capital investment from businesses relocating or expanding in its service territory.

Positive

• Smart Energy Plan investments resulted in 8 million minutes reduction in customer outages in 2024
• Attracted $3.1 billion in planned capital investments from businesses in 2024
• Additional investment opportunity of $5 billion by 2030 and $7 billion by 2035
• Significant infrastructure modernization with 134 new/upgraded substations and 250 miles of upgraded lines

Negative

• Substantial capital expenditure requirements of $16.2 billion over five years
• Regulatory approval risks for new generation facilities and rate recovery
• Significant execution risks in implementing multiple large-scale projects simultaneously

Insights

Utility Infrastructure Analyst

This comprehensive infrastructure and generation strategy represents a pivotal shift in Ameren Missouri's capital allocation, with significant implications for long-term growth and stability. The $16.2 billion Smart Energy Plan demonstrates exceptional strategic foresight in three key areas:

First, the balanced approach to generation expansion addresses both immediate reliability needs and future clean energy demands. The planned 1.6GW of natural gas capacity by 2030 provides essential baseload power, while 2.7GW of renewable additions position the company favorably for environmental regulations and corporate clean energy demands. The 1GW battery storage commitment is particularly noteworthy, as it provides important grid flexibility and positions Ameren at the forefront of utility-scale storage adoption.

Second, the modernization initiatives have already delivered measurable operational improvements, with smart switch technology preventing 8 million customer outage minutes in 2024. This technological upgrade directly translates to improved reliability metrics and customer satisfaction, key factors in regulatory relationships and rate case outcomes.

Third, the economic development impact is substantial, with $3.1 billion in planned capital investment from new businesses in 2024 alone. The $2 billion spent with Missouri-based suppliers across 1,200 businesses demonstrates strong local economic multiplication effects, which typically correlates with favorable regulatory treatment.

The strategy's execution carries minimal regulatory risk given its alignment with Missouri's economic development goals and demonstrated reliability improvements. The planned $5 billion additional investment by 2030 provides clear visibility into rate base growth, while the balanced resource mix helps mitigate fuel price volatility risks.

Company also details benefits from Smart Energy Plan investments in a stronger grid that saved customers 8 million minutes in outages in 2024

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), announced a significant change to its generation strategy, aiming to accelerate generation investments to support robust economic expansion, bolster reliability and create jobs across Missouri. The revision to Ameren Missouri's Preferred Resource Plan in its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is designed to provide for 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of expected new energy demand by 2032, with a balanced mix of generation resources to deliver reliable, affordable and cleaner energy for all customers.

Building off the success of bringing in nearly two dozen new economic development projects in 2024, Ameren Missouri has construction agreements with potential large load customers for new energy demand.

"These agreements are an initial step," said Mark Birk, chairman and president of Ameren Missouri. "Work remains with key stakeholders to secure these customers and provide benefits to our communities." 

To support these investments in new energy generation and to provide the reliable delivery of that energy to customers, today, Ameren Missouri also filed its updated Smart Energy Plan with the Missouri Public Service Commission. The $16.2 billion, five-year plan calls for continued investments in modern infrastructure to enhance grid reliability and resiliency.

"Our customers depend on Ameren Missouri to continue investing in reliability, whether that's through a balanced mix of energy resources or strengthening the grid by upgrading and maintaining aging infrastructure. Through these continued investments, we are ensuring that we have a reliable and resilient energy system to serve customers today and well into the future," Birk said.

The updated generation strategy within the new Preferred Resource Plan (PRP) of the IRP, which is designed to reliably serve customers and support economic development, is detailed at AmerenMissouri.com/Reliable. It includes:

• Building 1,600 megawatts (MW) of natural gas generation resources by 2030, with a total planned addition of 6,100 MW by 2045.
• Continuing investments in renewable generation resources across the region, which includes another 2,700 MW of wind and solar energy by 2030, with a total planned addition of 4,200 MW by 2045.
• Deploying a significant amount of battery storage across the Ameren Missouri service territory. The PRP calls for 1,000 MW to be installed by 2030 and a total of 1,800 MW by 2045.
• Planning for 1,500 MW of new nuclear energy generation by 2045. Nuclear operates regardless of weather and can provide a clean, steady supply of energy that customers will need in the future. Ameren Missouri continues to expect to seek an extension to operate the Callaway Energy Center beyond 2044.

The IRP reflects an overall increase of 1.8 GW of capacity between now and 2030 and a total of 2.3 GW of capacity by 2035. When factoring in updated costs for all planned resources, the IRP represents an additional investment opportunity of $5 billion by 2030 and a total of $7 billion by 2035.

"For the past decade, we have made significant investments in a balanced mix of generation resources to provide reliable, lowest-cost, cleaner energy for our customers. Our continued focus on modernizing our infrastructure is designed to make sure Missouri remains an attractive destination for new and expanding businesses," said Ajay Arora, senior vice president and chief development officer at Ameren Missouri.

Significant Investments in Reliable Infrastructure

Through the Smart Energy Plan, Ameren Missouri will continue its investments in modern energy delivery infrastructure. These efforts support reliability for customers by upgrading aging equipment, increasing capacity and grid flexibility, installing stronger poles to increase resiliency during severe storms and adding smart technology to reduce outages and respond faster when they do occur.

Smart Energy Plan upgrades through 2024 include:

• 134 new or upgraded substations to better serve communities across Missouri.
• Approximately 250 miles of upgraded subtransmission lines, improving storm resiliency and providing more flexibility to reroute power during an outage.
• 1.3 million smart meters to automatically detect and report outages and provide customers detailed energy usage information and expanded rate options.
• 1,700 additional smart switches on the system to reduce outages from hours to minutes and even seconds.

"Smart switch technology has been a critical component of our efforts to provide the reliability our customers have come to expect," said Tim Lafser, senior vice president of energy delivery for Ameren Missouri. "These devices rapidly detected outages and automatically restored power for more than 50,000 customers during major storms in 2024 – eliminating what would otherwise have been 8 million minutes' worth of outages."

Reliable infrastructure, enabled by the Smart Energy Plan, is crucial to supporting the energy needs of businesses and the ability to attract investment in our region. In 2024, businesses announced more than $3.1 billion in planned capital investment to relocate or expand in Ameren Missouri's service territory.

"Ameren Missouri has spent approximately $2 billion with Missouri-based suppliers and contractors through the Smart Energy Plan, representing more than 1,200 businesses in 60 counties," Birk said. "And we are seeing increased interest and opportunity for businesses to locate their operations in our communities. The reliable, resilient energy Ameren Missouri provides is fundamental to economic expansion and vital to supporting our nation's critical infrastructure."

Additional information about Smart Energy Plan investments and benefits can be found in the 2024 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 approximately 1.3 million electric and 100,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers approximately 60 counties and more than 500 communities, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us 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 and Ameren Missouri's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 21, 2023, 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 Ameren Missouri's electric service regulatory rate review filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission ("MoPSC") in June 2024, Ameren Missouri's natural gas delivery service regulatory rate review filed with the MoPSC in September 2024, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) December 2024 notice indicating a future order will be issued related to rehearing requests on the October 2024 FERC order regarding the allowed base return on equity ("ROE") under the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., a regional transmission organization ("MISO") tariff along with the January 2025 appeal of FERC's October 2024 order by the MISO transmission owners, including Ameren Missouri;
• 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 services for our customers;
• the effect on Ameren Missouri of any customer rate caps or limitations on increasing the electric service revenue requirement pursuant to Ameren Missouri's election to use the plant-in-service accounting regulatory mechanism;
• 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 energy centers, extend the operating license for the Callaway Energy Center, retire fossil fuel-fired 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, preferred resource plan, or emissions reduction goals, and to recover its cost of investment, a related return, and, in the case of customer energy-efficiency programs, any lost electric revenues in a timely manner, each of 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;
• Ameren Missouri's ability to use or transfer federal production and investment tax credits related to renewable energy projects and nuclear energy production; the cost of wind, solar, and other renewable generation and battery 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;
• 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;
• 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 federal and state energy and economic policies with respect to those technologies;
• the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and other domestic or international governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, foreign trade, and energy policies, tariffs, or extended federal government shutdowns or defunding;
• the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws or rates; additional regulations, interpretations, amendments, or technical corrections to, or in connection with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 ("IRA"), including the effects of the IRA as it relates to income tax payments or the transferability of production and investment tax credits and the 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income; and challenges to the tax positions taken by us, if any, as well as resulting effects on customer rates and the recoverability of the minimum tax imposed under the IRA;
• the effects on energy prices and demand for our services resulting from customer growth patterns or usage, including demand from data centers, 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 increasingly cost-competitive;
• 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 the cost and availability of purchased power, including capacity, zero emission credits, renewable energy credits, and 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 primarily from the one Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed supplier of assemblies for Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center;
• the cost and availability of transmission capacity required for the energy generated by Ameren Missouri's energy centers or required to satisfy our 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, our suppliers, or other entities on the grid, 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;
• acts of sabotage, which have increased in frequency and severity within the utility industry, war, terrorism, or other intentionally disruptive acts;
• business, economic, geopolitical, and capital market conditions, including tariffs or trade wars, evolving federal regulatory priorities, and the impact of such conditions on interest rates, inflation, and investments;
• the impact of inflation or a recession on our customers and suppliers and the related impact on our results of operations, financial position, and liquidity;
• disruptions of the capital and credit 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, and our ability to access the capital and credit markets on reasonable terms when needed;
• the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such actions;
• the impact of weather conditions and other natural conditions 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 ability to maintain system reliability during and after the transition to clean energy generation by Ameren Missouri and the electric utility industry as well as Ameren Missouri's ability to meet generation capacity obligations;
• 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 or their interpretation and new, more stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other emissions and discharges, 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;
• 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;
• labor disputes, work force reductions, our ability to attract and retain professional and skilled-craft employees, 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, creditors, rating agencies 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 company policies or practices;
• the impact of adopting new accounting and reporting guidance;
• the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures;
• legal and administrative proceedings;
• pandemics or other significant global health events, and their impacts on our results of operations, financial position, and liquidity;
• the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, related sanctions imposed by the United States and other governments, and any broadening of these or other global conflicts, including potential impacts on the cost and availability of fuel, natural gas, enriched uranium, and other commodities, materials, and services; and
• the inability of our counterparties to perform their obligations, disruptions in the capital and credit markets, prolonged government shutdowns or defunding, acts of sabotage or terrorism, including cyberattacks and physical attacks, and other impacts on business, economic, and geopolitical conditions, including inflation, tariffs, trade wars, or recession.

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

FAQ

What is Ameren Missouri's (AEE) investment plan for renewable energy by 2030?

Ameren Missouri plans to add 2,700 MW of wind and solar energy by 2030, with a total planned addition of 4,200 MW by 2045.

How much is Ameren's (AEE) Smart Energy Plan investment between 2025-2030?

Ameren Missouri's Smart Energy Plan involves a $16.2 billion investment over five years to enhance grid reliability and resiliency.

What are the key components of AEE's new generation strategy through 2045?

The strategy includes 6,100 MW of natural gas generation, 4,200 MW of renewables, 1,800 MW of battery storage, and 1,500 MW of new nuclear energy generation.

How much did Ameren Missouri's (AEE) smart switch technology save customers in 2024?

Smart switch technology eliminated 8 million minutes worth of outages for more than 50,000 customers during major storms in 2024.

What is the total additional investment opportunity in AEE's new plan by 2035?

The plan represents an additional investment opportunity of $7 billion by 2035, with $5 billion of that planned by 2030.