Ameren Committed to Completing AER/Dynegy Transaction

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Jun 06, 2013, 05:28 ET

ST. LOUIS, June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) and Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN) remain committed to completing the transaction for the divestiture of Ameren Energy Resources (AER) and its subsidiaries to Dynegy's subsidiary, Illinois Power Holdings (IPH). Today the Illinois Pollution Control Board denied, purely on procedural grounds, AER and IPH's motion to transfer variance relief from the Illinois Multi-Pollutant Standard from AER to IPH.

The Illinois Pollution Control Board indicated that IPH is free to file a new request for variance relief. Both IPH and AER will pursue such relief before the Board and are confident that the Board will ultimately grant IPH and AER's requests. The companies anticipate such a filing will be made in the near future.

About Ameren

St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation serves 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through our Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric and natural gas delivery service while Ameren Missouri provides vertically integrated electric service, with generating capacity of 10,300 megawatts, and natural gas delivery service. Ameren Transmission develops regional electric transmission projects. In March 2013, we entered into a definitive agreement to divest our Illinois-based merchant generation business. For more information, visit Ameren.com.

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 Ameren's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, 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:

completion of Ameren's announced divestiture of the merchant generation business and the sale of the Elgin, Gibson City, and Grand Tower gas-fired energy centers;
Ameren's exit from the merchant generation business, which could result in additional impairments of long-lived assets, disposal-related losses, contingencies, reduction of existing deferred tax assets, or could have other adverse impacts on the financial condition, results of operations and liquidity of Ameren;
regulatory approvals, including from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Federal Communications Commission, and the Illinois Pollution Control Board relating to, and the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to, the divestiture of the merchant generation business;
regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, including changes in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations; and future regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions that seek to change regulatory recovery mechanisms;
the effects of, or changes to, the Illinois power procurement process;
changes in laws and other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and tax policies, including such changes that result in our being unable to claim all or a portion of the cash tax benefits that are expected to result from the divestiture of the merchant generation business;
changes in laws or regulations that adversely affect the ability of electric distribution companies and other purchasers of wholesale electricity to pay their suppliers, including Ameren Energy Marketing Company;
the effects of increased competition in the future due to, among other things, deregulation of certain aspects of our business at both the state and federal levels, and the implementation of deregulation;
the effects on demand for our services resulting from technological advances, including advances in energy efficiency and distributed generation sources, which generate electricity at the site of consumption;
increasing capital expenditure and operating expense requirements and our ability to recover these costs;
the cost and availability of fuel such as coal, natural gas and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the cost and availability of purchased power and natural gas for distribution; and the level and volatility of future market prices for such commodities, including the ability to recover the costs for such commodities;
the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and the use of financial and derivative instruments;
the level and volatility of future prices for power in the Midwest, which may have a significant effect on the financial condition of Ameren's merchant generation segment;
business and economic conditions, including their impact on interest rates, bad debt expense, and demand for our products;
disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in our credit metrics, or other events that make our access to necessary capital, including short-term credit and liquidity, impossible, more difficult, or more costly;
our assessment of our liquidity, including liquidity concerns for Ameren's merchant generation business, and specifically for Ameren Energy Generating Company, whose ability to borrow additional funds from external third-party sources is restricted;
the impact of the adoption of new accounting guidance and the application of appropriate technical accounting rules and guidance;
actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such actions;
the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on us and our customers;
the impact of system outages;
generation, transmission, and distribution asset construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery;
the effects of our increasing investment in electric transmission projects and uncertainty as to whether we will achieve our expected returns in a timely fashion, if at all;
the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including the divestiture of the merchant generation business, and any related tax implications;
the impact of current environmental regulations on utilities and power generating companies and new, more stringent or changing requirements, including those related to greenhouse gases, other emissions and discharges, cooling water intake structures, coal combustion residuals, and energy efficiency, that are enacted over time and that could limit or terminate the operation of certain of our energy centers, increase our costs, result in an impairment of our assets, reduce our customers' demand for electricity or natural gas, or otherwise have a negative financial effect;
labor disputes, workforce reductions, future wage and employee benefits costs, including changes in discount rates and returns on benefit plan assets;
the inability of our counterparties and affiliates to meet their obligations with respect to contracts, credit agreements, and financial instruments;
the cost and availability of transmission capacity for the energy generated by Ameren's energy centers or required to satisfy energy sales made by Ameren;
legal and administrative proceedings; and
acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, cybersecurity attacks or intentionally disruptive acts.

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.

SOURCE Ameren Corporation