Ameren Profile
Ameren Corporation (Ameren) operates as a public utility holding company.
Subsidiaries
Ameren Missouri (Union Electric Company (doing business as Ameren Missouri))
Ameren Missouri operates a rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution business; and a rate-regulated natural gas distribution business in Missouri. It supplies electric and natural gas service to a 24,000-square-mile area in central and eastern Missouri, including the Greater St. Louis area. Ameren Missouri supplies electric service to 1.2 million customers and natural gas service to 0.1 million customers.
Ameren Illinois (Ameren Illinois Company)
Ameren Illinois operates rate-regulated electric transmission, electric distribution, and natural gas distribution businesses in Illinois. Ameren Illinois supplies electric and natural gas utility service to a 43,700 square mile area in central and southern Illinois. Ameren Illinois supplies electric service to 1.2 million customers and natural gas service to 0.8 million customers.
ATXI (Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois)
ATXI operates a FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a United States government agency) rate-regulated electric transmission business in the MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., a regional transmission organization). ATXI also operates the Spoon River and Mark Twain transmission lines, which were placed in service in February 2018 and December 2019, respectively.
The company also has other subsidiaries that conduct other activities, such as providing shared services.
Segments
The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission.
The Ameren Missouri segment includes all of the operations of Ameren Missouri.
Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution consists of the electric distribution business of Ameren Illinois.
Ameren Illinois Natural Gas consists of the natural gas business of Ameren Illinois.
Ameren Transmission primarily consists of the aggregated electric transmission businesses of Ameren Illinois and ATXI. The category called Other primarily includes Ameren (parent) activities and Ameren Services.
Ameren Missouri has one segment. Ameren Illinois has three segments: Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Illinois Transmission.
Transmission
Ameren owns an integrated transmission system that consists of the transmission assets of Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and ATXI. Ameren also operates two MISO balancing authority areas: AMMO and AMIL. The AMMO balancing authority area includes the load and most energy centers of Ameren Missouri, and had a peak demand of 7,584 MWs in 2022. The AMIL balancing authority area includes the load of Ameren Illinois and certain natural gas-fired energy centers of Ameren Missouri, and had a peak demand of 8,510 MWs in 2022. The Ameren transmission system directly connects with 15 other balancing authority areas for the exchange of electric energy.
Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and ATXI are transmission-owning members of the MISO. Ameren Missouri is authorized by the MoPSC (Missouri Public Service Commission, a state agency that regulates Missouri utility businesses, including Ameren Missouri) to participate in the MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., an RTO) for an indefinite term, subject to the MoPSC’s authority to require future proceedings if an event or circumstance occurs that significantly affects Ameren Missouri’s position in the MISO. Ameren Illinois’ election to participate in the MISO is subject to the ICC’s oversight. In July 2022, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issued an order requiring Ameren Illinois to perform a cost-benefit study of continued participation in the MISO compared to participation in PJM Interconnection LLC, another RTO (Regional transmission organization), and file the study by July 2023.
Supply of Electric Power
Ameren Missouri
Ameren Missouri’s electric supply is primarily generated from its energy centers.
Ameren Missouri files a long-term nonbinding integrated resource plan with the MoPSC every three years. The most recent integrated resource plan was filed in September 2020 and changed in June 2022 to include certain modifications to Ameren Missouri’s preferred approach for meeting customers’ projected long-term energy needs in a manner while maintaining system reliability and customer affordability. The preferred approach includes, among other things, the following:
the continued implementation of customer energy-efficiency programs;
expanding renewable sources by adding 2,800 MWs of renewable generation by 2030 and a total of 4,700 MWs of renewable generation by 2040, representing investment opportunities of $7.5 billion, inclusive of the 350 Megawatts (MWs) of solar generation projects;
adding 800 MWs of battery storage by 2040, representing investment opportunities of $650 million;
adding 1,200 MWs of natural gas-fired combined cycle generation by 2031, representing an investment opportunity with plans to switch to hydrogen fuel and/or blend hydrogen fuel with natural gas and install carbon capture technology;
adding 1,200 MWs of additional clean dispatchable generation by 2043;
the expectation that Ameren Missouri will seek and receive NRC approval for an extension of the operating license for the Callaway Energy Center beyond its 2044 expiration date;
extending the retirement date of the coal-fired Sioux Energy Center from 2028 to 2030 to ensure reliability during the transition to clean energy generation, which is subject to the approval of a change in the asset’s depreciable life by the MoPSC in Ameren Missouri’s 2022 electric service regulatory rate review;
accelerating the retirement date of the Rush Island coal-fired energy center to 2025;
retiring the remaining coal-fired energy centers as they reach the end of their useful lives;
accelerating the retirement date of the Venice natural gas-fired energy center to 2029; and
retiring Ameren Missouri’s other natural gas-fired energy centers in Illinois by 2040.
Ameren Missouri continues to evaluate its longer-term needs for new generating capacity. The need for investment in new sources of energy is dependent on several key factors, including continuation of and customer participation in energy-efficiency programs, the amount of distributed generation from customers, load growth, technological advancements, costs of generation alternatives, environmental regulation of coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants, and state renewable energy requirements.
Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois charges distribution service rates to electric distribution customers who purchase electricity, regardless of supplier, which does affect Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution’s earnings.
Pursuant to the IETL (Illinois Energy Transition Legislation), Ameren Illinois (Ameren Illinois Company) is required to file a multi-year integrated grid plan with the ICC every four years. In January 2023, Ameren Illinois filed its first multi-year integrated grid plan for the years 2023 to 2027. The plan outlines how Ameren Illinois expects to operate and invest in electric distribution infrastructure in order to support grid modernization, clean energy, energy efficiency, and the state of Illinois’ renewable energy, equity, climate, electrification, and environmental goals, while providing safe, secure, reliable, and resilient electric distribution service to customers. Ameren Illinois’ next multi-year integrated grid plan is required by mid-January 2026.
Power Generation
Ameren Missouri owns energy centers that rely on a diverse fuel portfolio, including coal, nuclear, and natural gas, as well as renewable sources of generation, which include hydroelectric, wind, methane gas, and solar.
The Callaway Energy Center is licensed to operate until 2044. As of December 31, 2022, Ameren Missouri’s coal-fired energy centers represented 9% and 17% of Ameren’s and Ameren Missouri’s rate base, respectively. The Meramec Energy Center was retired at the end of its useful life in December 2022. Also in December 2022, Ameren Illinois placed a solar generation facility in service, which is one of two pilot solar projects Ameren Illinois is allowed to invest in under the IETL.
Coal
Ameren Missouri has agreements in place to purchase and transport coal to its energy centers. While Ameren Missouri has minimum purchase obligations associated with these agreements, the majority of these agreements are not associated with any specific coal-fired energy center. Ameren Missouri burned approximately 14.5 million tons of coal in 2022.
Nuclear
Ameren Missouri has entered into uranium, uranium conversion, uranium enrichment, and fabrication contracts to procure the fuel supply for its Callaway Energy Center.
Ameren Missouri has inventories and supply contracts sufficient to meet all of its uranium (concentrate and hexafluoride), conversion, enrichment, and fabrication requirements at least through the 2026 refueling.
Natural Gas Supply for Distribution
Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois are responsible for the purchase and delivery of natural gas to their customers. Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois each develop and manage a portfolio of natural gas supply resources. These resources include firm natural gas supply agreements with producers, firm interstate and intrastate transportation capacity, firm no-notice storage capacity leased from interstate pipelines, and on-system storage facilities to maintain natural gas deliveries to customers throughout the year and especially during peak demand periods. Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois primarily use Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company, Trunkline Gas Company, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, Mississippi River Transmission Corporation, Northern Border Pipeline Company, and Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation interstate pipeline systems to transport natural gas to their systems. In addition to transactions requiring physical delivery, certain financial instruments, including those entered into in the New York Mercantile Exchange futures market and in the over-the-counter financial markets, are used to hedge the price paid for natural gas.
Rates and Regulation
Rates
The MoPSC regulates rates and other matters for Ameren Missouri. The ICC (Illinois Commerce Commission, a state agency that regulates Illinois utility businesses, including Ameren Illinois and ATXI) regulates rates and other matters for Ameren Illinois. The MoPSC and the ICC regulate non-rate utility matters for ATXI.
The FERC regulates Ameren Missouri’s, Ameren Illinois’, and ATXI’s cost-based rates for the wholesale transmission and distribution of energy in interstate commerce and various other matters.
General Regulatory Matters
Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and ATXI must receive FERC approval to enter into various transactions, such as issuing short-term debt securities and conducting certain acquisitions, mergers, and consolidations involving electric utility holding companies.
Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and ATXI are also subject to mandatory reliability standards, including cybersecurity standards adopted by the FERC, to ensure the reliability of the bulk electric power system. These standards are developed and enforced by the NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation), pursuant to authority delegated to it by the FERC. Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and ATXI are members of the SERC (SERC Reliability Corporation. The SERC is one of the regional entities and represents all or portions of 16 central and southeastern states under authority from the NERC for the purpose of implementing and enforcing reliability standards approved by the FERC. Ameren Missouri is also a member of the MRO, which is also one of the six regional entities and represents all or portions of 16 central, southern, and midwestern states, as well as two Canadian provinces, under authority from the NERC. The regional entities of the NERC work to safeguard the reliability of the bulk power systems throughout North America.
Operation of Ameren Missouri’s Callaway Energy Center is subject to regulation by the NRC. The license for the Callaway Energy Center expires in 2044. Ameren Missouri’s hydroelectric Osage Energy Center and pumped-storage hydroelectric Taum Sauk Energy Center, as licensed projects under the Federal Power Act, are subject to FERC regulations affecting, among other aspects, the general operation and maintenance of the projects. The licenses for the Osage Energy Center and the Taum Sauk Energy Center expire in 2047 and 2044, respectively. Ameren Missouri’s Keokuk Energy Center and its dam on the Mississippi River between Hamilton, Illinois, and Keokuk, Iowa, are operated under authority granted by an Act of Congress in 1905.
History
Ameren Corporation was founded in 1881.
