Ameren
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Predecessor | Union Electric Company, Central Illinois Public Service Company (CIPSCO Inc.) |
| Founded | December 31, 1997 |
| Headquarters | St. Louis , United States |
Area served | Central and eastern Missouri, southern Illinois |
Key people | Gary Rainwater (CEO, post-2003) |
| Products | Electricity, natural gas |
Number of employees | 9,116 (2021) |
| Website | www |
Ameren Corporation is a U.S.-based energy company established on December 31, 1997, resulting from the merger between Union Electric Company (formerly NYSE: UEP) located in St. Louis, Missouri and Central Illinois Public Service Company (CIPSCO Inc., formerly NYSE: CIP) based in Springfield, Illinois. Functioning as a holding company, Ameren oversees multiple energy subsidiaries. Its headquarters are situated in St. Louis, and it supplies electricity to 2.4 million customers and natural gas to 900,000 clients across a 64,000-square-mile area encompassing central and eastern Missouri as well as much of southern Illinois.
The main subsidiaries under Ameren include:
- Ameren Missouri
- Ameren Illinois
- Ameren Transmission Company
- Ameren Services
Among its assets, Ameren Missouri owns the Bagnell Dam on the Osage River, which forms the Lake of the Ozarks, and is responsible for managing lake water levels in accordance with federal guidelines.
For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020, Ameren reported revenues of $5.794 billion, operating income of $1.300 billion, and net income amounting to $0.871 billion. The company’s total assets were valued at $32.030 billion with shareholders’ equity of $9.080 billion. As of December 31, 2021, Ameren employed a workforce of 9,116 individuals.
Ameren’s energy portfolio boasts roughly 16,900 megawatts of electrical generating capacity along with extensive natural gas operations, establishing it as a significant utility provider throughout the Midwest.
Origins
A notable milestone preceding Ameren’s creation was the completion of the Bagnell Dam on the Osage River in 1929. This hydroelectric facility produced nearly 175 megawatts for Missouri’s Union Electric Company and resulted in the formation of the Lake of the Ozarks. In 1931, Union Electric expanded its power generation by purchasing electricity from and eventually acquiring the dam at Keokuk, Iowa (Keokuk Dam), delivering 134 megawatts across an unprecedented transmission distance.
By the mid-20th century, Union Electric had grown to become Missouri’s third-largest distributor of natural gas through acquisitions near Alton, Illinois. In 1952, Central Illinois Public Service Company (CIPS) partnered with Union Electric to create the Midwest Power Pool, improving regional energy distribution networks. The CIPS-operated Meredosia Power Station and its later subsidiary Illinois Power Company played significant roles in this expansion.
Union Electric further enhanced its generation capabilities by completing the Taum Sauk pumped storage facility with a capacity of 350 megawatts in 1963 and adding nuclear power through the commissioning of the 1,143-megawatt Callaway Nuclear Generating Station in 1984.
Ameren history
In 1995, shareholders from both CIPSCO Inc. and Union Electric Company approved a merger that culminated on December 31, 1997, with the establishment of Ameren Corporation. Both companies were publicly traded on the NYSE under symbols CIP and UEP respectively before merging. At that time, Union Electric possessed nearly $600 million in assets alongside $1.8 billion in long-term liabilities; CIPSCO held $210 million in assets with close to $500 million debt. Following consolidation, Ameren began trading under the ticker AEE.
Post-merger, Union Electric was rebranded as AmerenUE (currently known as Ameren Missouri), operating nine generating plants serving approximately 1.2 million electricity customers and 110,000 natural gas customers primarily within Missouri’s St. Louis region. Meanwhile, CIPSCO’s Central Illinois Public Service continued operations as AmerenCIPS.
In 2000, Ameren established a holding company named AmerenEnergy Resources, which included subsidiaries such as AmerenEnergy Marketing and AmerenEnergy Generating.
To reduce costs, a voluntary retirement initiative was launched in 2002 aimed at trimming about 1,000 positions out of its then total workforce of roughly 7,400 employees.
In 2003, Ameren acquired Peoria-based CILCORP Inc., which included Central Illinois Light Company, from AES Corporation. Prior to acquisition, CILCO had assets exceeding $150 million and carried $330 million in long-term debt; post-acquisition it was renamed AmerenCILCO.
Following Charles Mueller’s retirement as chairman late in 2003, Gary Rainwater assumed the role of CEO.
The following year, Ameren expanded its footprint by purchasing Illinois Power Company from Dynegy Inc., becoming a prominent investor-owned utility in downstate Illinois. Illinois Power held approximately $360 million in assets but had over $2 billion in long-term liabilities before acquisition; its generation portfolio primarily consisted of coal-fired plants. This entity was rebranded as AmerenIP. Additionally in 2004, Patrick T. Stokes—former CEO of Anheuser-Busch—joined Ameren’s board of directors.
In line with renewable energy commitments for Missouri customers, AmerenUE secured a contract in 2009 for 102 megawatts of wind energy from Horizon Wind Energy’s Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm located in Iowa.
On October 1, 2010, Ameren consolidated its three Illinois operating companies into a single entity named Ameren Illinois Company, simplifying operations while maintaining three distinct rate zones corresponding to previous service areas: Zone I (formerly AmerenCIPS), Zone II (formerly AmerenCILCO), and Zone III (formerly AmerenIP). Concurrently, AmerenUE was renamed Ameren Missouri; portions of its Illinois territory were transferred to Ameren Illinois Zone I.
In 2015, Ameren inaugurated an Innovation Center within the Research Park, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, focusing on advancing technological development.
By 2016, Business Insider ranked Ameren tenth among America’s best energy employers based on employee feedback indicating that 74% found their work meaningful.
Ameren Transmission
Ameren manages transmission lines operating at voltage levels of 345kV, 230kV, 161kV, 138kV, 69kV, and 34.5kV.
Service area
By 2021, Ameren Illinois and Ameren Missouri provided electricity and natural gas services to the majority of central and southern Illinois as well as large portions of northern and eastern Missouri, covering areas such as St. Louis, East Saint Louis, and adjacent suburbs. This service territory notably excludes nearly all of the Chicago metropolitan area, which contains approximately 75% of Illinois's residents.
Ownership
As of 2017, institutional investors including Vanguard group, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation held the majority of Ameren’s shares.
Taum Sauk pumped storage plant
The Taum Sauk pumped storage plant, owned by Ameren Missouri, experienced a catastrophic failure on December 14, 2005, resulting in significant damage to the east fork of the Black River and Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. The FERC imposed a $15 million penalty on Ameren. Missouri filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of negligent operations that prioritized power generation over safety and maintenance protocols. During pumping operations, the facility was controlled remotely without any staff present onsite.
Reconstruction of the upper reservoir required an investment of $450 million. Built using roller compacted concrete (RCC), this reservoir holds the distinction as North America’s largest RCC dam. The plant, with a capacity of 450 megawatts, recommenced electricity production on April 21, 2010.
Clean Air Act
In 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated legal action against Ameren Missouri concerning excessive sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from its Rush Island Plant located in Festus, Missouri. The EPA claimed that between 2007 and 2010, Ameren made substantial modifications without securing necessary permits under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) requirements within the New Source Review (NSR) program, thereby violating the Clean Air Act, Missouri’s State Implementation Plan, and the plant’s Title V Permit.
A District Court ruling in January 2017 held Ameren accountable for these violations due to failure to obtain permits and implement optimal pollution control technologies. The court ordered installation of scrubbers at Rush Island; however, Ameren chose to shut down the facility in 2024—fifteen years earlier than originally planned. Although scrubbers were also mandated for Ameren’s Labadie plant, a federal appeals court later reversed this directive since no violations were found at that site.
Electric vehicles
Ameren has demonstrated commitment to advancing electric vehicle usage. After a pilot program launched in 2016 to deploy EV charging stations was discontinued following regulatory disapproval and challenges with cost recovery, Ameren revived its efforts in 2018 through the "Charge Ahead" initiative. This program supports the installation of roughly 1,200 charging points and encourages adoption of commercial electric vehicles across its service regions.
Former manufactured gas plant
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, a regional utility operated a coal gasification facility at Ash and Orr streets in Columbia, Missouri, which was subsequently demolished after acquisition by Ameren Corporation. The gasification process led to contamination of soil and groundwater with carcinogenic substances. By June 2014, Ameren had begun removing polluted soil with plans to complete remediation by September that year. As of 2019, local authorities considered acquiring the site for development into a public park. However, Ameren faced criticism from the North Village Board of Directors for owning a neglected city block and showing limited enthusiasm toward commercial redevelopment.
Lake of the Ozarks
Ameren Missouri supports the Adopt-the-Shoreline initiative, which empowers volunteers to oversee litter cleanup along the shoreline. The company oversees shoreline installations such as boat docks and seawalls within the Osage Project area on Lake of the Ozarks, including regions downstream of Bagnell Dam. Additionally, Ameren maintains a dedicated Lake and Shoreline Protection Hotline to receive reports concerning abandoned docks or other lake-related issues.
Labadie Energy Center
The Labadie coal-fired facility situated in Franklin County, Missouri operates without sulfur dioxide scrubbers, resulting in it being the leading SO2 emitter among coal plants across the United States. Even if its emissions were reduced by half, it would remain among the top three polluting coal plants nationwide. In 2023, the Sierra Club listed Labadie as one of the 17 most hazardous coal plants in the country and called on the EPA to impose tighter emission limits due to its detrimental effects on regional haze and surrounding communities. It stands as the second-largest source of greenhouse gases among U.S. coal plants. Research analyzing Medicare data estimated that fine particulate pollution from Labadie contributed to roughly 4,000 premature deaths between 1999 and 2020 in seven Midwestern states.
The facility has received EPA enforcement actions for Clean Air Act breaches, including unauthorized major modifications in 2010 and 2011 that increased emissions without obtaining required permits.
Ameren UE Tower
Situated near Ameren’s St. Louis corporate offices, the Ameren UE Tower is a 106.5-meter lattice steel structure constructed in 2009 that serves dual purposes as an electrical transmission tower and a radio antenna mast. It supports two 138 kV circuits mounted on three crossarms located at mid-height. The tower’s elevation primarily facilitates radio signal transmission rather than electrical infrastructure needs. However, its structural design presents challenges for antenna upgrades since installing larger antennas necessitates shutting down high-voltage lines due to interference caused by crossarms and power cables.
External links
Taum Sauk
- Articles with short description
- Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
- Energy companies established in 1997
- Nuclear power companies of the United States
- Electric power companies of the United States
- Companies based in St. Louis
- Hydroelectric power companies of the United States
- 1997 establishments in Missouri