Ameren Missouri launches five-year plan to modernize grid

Ameren Missouri is launching a major, five-year effort to modernize the energy grid and enhance how customers receive electricity.

The company’s $5.3 billion Smart Energy Plan includes more than 2,000 electric projects over the next five years, making it the largest infrastructure upgrade plan Ameren Missouri’s history.  

“Building a smart grid for the future of energy in Missouri is foundational to our mission to power the quality of life for our customers and the communities we serve for generations to come,” Michael Moehn, president of Ameren Missouri, said. “We have developed a forward-thinking and customer-focused infrastructure upgrade plan that will not only produce a grid that is more reliable and resilient, but also be able to accommodate more renewable energy. Our Smart Energy Plan will position us to deliver on our promises to provide more customer benefits, while at the same time keeping rates stable and predictable.”

The $5.3 billion improvement plan includes investments in the electric grid, wind energy, solar power, battery storage to boost reliability, smart grid sensors, and equipment to detect and isolate outages and speed up restoration. It also includes the installation of 12,000 new utility poles that are designed to better withstand severe weather and more than 400 miles of new underground cable and equipment to create a more reliable underground energy delivery system. Further, it includes the construction of 70 new or upgraded substations to increase energy service reliability and 800,000 smart electric meters.

The plan also calls for doing this without increasing rates in the near term. Ameren Missouri has proposed a base rate freeze until April 2020 as well as caps on rate increases. It will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Missouri communities as a result of more than 2,000 planned projects.

“Our customer-focused plan supports Ameren Missouri’s vision to lead the way to a secure energy future, making our state an even better place to live and do business,” Moehn said.

Customers can view the plan at www.AmerenMissouri.com/SmartEnergyPlan. They can also attend a public informational meeting on March 4 at the Millbottom Event Center.

Ameren Missouri serves 1.2 million electric and 130,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri.