Ameren Missouri to invest $8.4B into grid modernization over next five years

(Corrects to reflect that Ameren Missouri is making an $8.4 billion investment.)

In filing an updated Smart Energy Plan last week with the Missouri Public Service Commission, Ameren Missouri signaled its intent to invest $8.4 billion into grid modernization efforts over the next five years.

These efforts will take the form of upgrades to old infrastructure, increasingly automated technology, stronger power poles, and improved power lines, all to support the rollout of additional renewable energy and improve overall reliability and the speed of restoration. Last year, Ameren Missouri spent another $438 million on state vendors and contractors to complete such projects and also intends to pour out economic development incentives to help attract and retain businesses within the state.

“Thanks to the Smart Energy Plan, we have been able to replace aging infrastructure and invest in a more resilient, reliable, and sustainable energy system for our customers,” Mark Birk, president of Ameren Missouri, said. “These are changes that many of our customers can see today. With thousands of upgrades completed, we’ve improved reliability by up to 40 percent where we have installed smart technology. And our customers will continue to see improvements as more upgrades are completed across our 24,000-square-mile system.”

So far, the company has rolled out 750 smart equipment switches to reduce outage times, added 41 new or upgraded substations, installed 463,000 smart meters to increase the precision of energy use data, and updated 115 miles of power lines to instill more rerouting capabilities during outage periods. This is leading to a stronger grid overall, Ameren Missouri said, and has already helped prevent damage from tornadoes, detect outages quicker, and allowed customers more capabilities to manage their energy usage online or via mobile app.

As for its incentive efforts, Ameren pointed out that 30 companies have decided to move to Missouri or expand their presence there as a direct result since 2019. That, in turn, provided or retained nearly 9,000 jobs in the region and added another $2.7 billion of capital investments into the state economy.