Ameren details commitment to building a brighter energy future in new Corporate Social Responsibility Report

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May 02, 2019, 11:02 ET

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.

SOURCE Ameren Corporation