Ameren details commitment to building a brighter energy future in new Corporate Social Responsibility Report
ST. LOUIS, May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report for Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), Committed to Building a Brighter Energy Future, is now available at AmerenCSR.com. The annual report illustrates the company's focus on building a brighter, sustainable energy future, while delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all customers, communities and shareholders.
"We are focused on meeting our customers' energy needs, exceeding their expectations, and delivering a brighter energy future for them and the communities we serve. Our focus is consistent with our mission - To Power the Quality of Life," said Warner L. Baxter, Ameren's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "In executing our strategy, we recognize that we have a responsibility to deliver on our mission because millions of customers are depending on us to do so."
Some of the ways Ameren is acting on those responsibilities include:
-- Building a smarter, more reliable and resilient energy grid while
keeping rates stable and predictable.
-- Increasing investments in energy efficiency programs to help customers
save money.
-- Transitioning to a cleaner, more diverse generation portfolio with
significant investments in renewable energy while targeting an 80
percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, as compared to 2005
levels.
-- Investing in energy infrastructure across Missouri and Illinois, and
creating thousands of jobs across the region.
-- Providing education, training and jobs to underserved populations, as
well as creating a workplace culture to attract, develop and retain a
highly skilled and diverse workforce.
"For us, Corporate Social Responsibility means delivering on our commitment to build a brighter energy future, which is consistent with our obligation of being a strong and committed corporate citizen. This report demonstrates some of our efforts and shines a spotlight on what we're planning to do in the future to positively contribute to the communities we serve," said Gwen Mizell, senior director of corporate social responsibility.
Download - Ameren's two-page summary PDF
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric distribution and transmission service, as well as natural gas distribution service, while Ameren Missouri provides vertically integrated electric service, with generating capacity of nearly 10,300 megawatts, and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops regional electric transmission projects. For more information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or LinkedIn.com/company/Ameren.
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,
strategies, 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
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, 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, such as those
that may result from the complaint case filed in February 2015 with
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a new methodology
to determine the allowed base return on common equity under the
Midcontinent System Operator (MISO) tariff proposed by the FERC in
November 2018, the Notices of Inquiry issued by the FERC in March
2019, Ameren Missouri's natural gas regulatory rate review filed
with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2018, an
appeal filed by the Missouri Office of Public Counsel in January
2019 in Ameren Missouri's renewable energy standard rate adjustment
mechanism case, Ameren Illinois' April 2019 annual electric
distribution formula rate update filing, and future regulatory,
judicial, or legislative actions that change regulatory recovery
mechanisms;
-- the effect of Ameren Illinois' participation in performance-based
formula ratemaking frameworks under the Illinois Energy
Infrastructure Modernization Act and the Future Energy Jobs Act
(FEJA), including the direct relationship between Ameren Illinois'
return on common equity and the 30-year United States Treasury bond
yields, and the related financial commitments;
-- the effect of Missouri Senate Bill 564 on Ameren Missouri, including
as a result of Ameren Missouri's election to use plant-in-service
accounting and the resulting customer rate caps;
-- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and other
governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and energy
policies;
-- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws,
regulations, interpretations, or rates, amendments or technical
corrections to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), and
challenges to the tax positions taken by us, if any;
-- the effects on demand for our services resulting from technological
advances, including advances in customer energy efficiency, energy
storage, and private generation sources, which generate electricity
at the site of consumption and are becoming more cost-competitive;
-- 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;
-- Ameren Illinois' ability to achieve the performance standards
applicable to its electric distribution business and the FEJA
electric customer energy-efficiency goals and the resulting impact
on its allowed return on equity;
-- our ability to align overall spending, both operating and capital,
with frameworks established by our regulators and to recover these
costs in a timely manner in our attempt to earn our allowed returns
on equity;
-- the cost and availability of purchased power, zero emission credits,
and renewable energy credits; and the level and volatility of future
market prices for such commodities and credits, including our
ability to recover the costs for such commodities and credits and
our customers' tolerance for any related price increases;
-- the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use of
financial and derivative instruments;
-- the impact of cyberattacks on us or our suppliers, which could,
among other things, result in the loss of operational control of
energy centers and electric transmission and distribution systems
and/or the loss of data, such as customer, employee, financial, and
operating system information;
-- business and economic conditions, including their impact on interest
rates, collection of our receivable balances, and demand for our
products;
-- disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in our credit
metrics, including as a result of the implementation of the TCJA, or
other events that may have an adverse effect on the cost or
availability of capital, including short-term credit and liquidity;
-- the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such
actions;
-- the inability of our counterparties to meet their obligations with
respect to contracts, credit agreements, and financial instruments;
-- the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery of
generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
-- the impact of current environmental laws and new, more stringent, or
changing requirements, including those related to carbon dioxide and
the proposed repeal and replacement of the Clean Power Plan and
potential adoption and implementation of the Affordable Clean Energy
Rule, other emissions and discharges, cooling water intake
structures, coal combustion residuals, and energy efficiency, 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 requirements in
Missouri and Illinois and with the zero emission standard in
Illinois;
-- Ameren Missouri's ability to acquire wind and other renewable
generation facilities and recover its cost of investment and related
return in a timely manner, which is affected by the ability to
obtain all necessary project approvals; the availability of federal
production and investment tax credits related to renewable energy
and Ameren Missouri's ability to use such credits; the cost of wind
and solar generation technologies; and Ameren Missouri's ability to
obtain timely interconnection agreements with MISO or other regional
transmission organizations, including the costs of such
interconnections;
-- labor disputes, work force reductions, 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, legislators, or regulators 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, or negative
media coverage;
-- the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers,
acquisitions, and divestitures;
-- legal and administrative proceedings; and
-- acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, or other intentionally disruptive
acts.
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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