Ameren Missouri customers can save more money and have more control under new energy efficiency plan

Plan introduces low- and no-cost programs to help customers most in need

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Oct 25, 2018, 17:04 ET

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Customers will have the opportunity to save millions of dollars and have more control over their energy usage as part of the largest energy efficiency plan in Missouri history. Today, Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), announced that it has entered into an agreement which, if approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission, would allow the company to launch new energy efficiency programs in early 2019.

Included in the programs is the return of a customer favorite—rebates for recycling old appliances such as refrigerators. Among the new offerings are innovative savings opportunities for low-income customers living in single- and multi-family homes, as well as non-profit social service providers. Working together with community-based organizations, Ameren Missouri will provide energy assessments as well as install whole-house energy savings measures at little to no cost to these customers.

"We've found new ways for more customers to take part in the many benefits of energy efficiency," said Matt Forck, assistant vice president of community, economic development and energy solutions at Ameren Missouri. "These offerings build on our past successes and will help communities across the state."

The plan, developed under the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act, includes dozens of programs with more than $120 million in rebates available for both residential and business customers. The programs targeted to low-income families and social service providers will run until 2025. Others will be offered until 2022.

"We looked across the country to find energy efficiency programs customers responded to best, as well as those which resulted in the most meaningful energy savings," said Bill Davis, director of energy efficiency and renewables at Ameren Missouri. "The upcoming savings opportunities are significant and will make a difference for our customers."

Ameren Missouri expects to invest $226 million over the life of the plan, with an intent to save 794 million kilowatt hours of energy. The reduction in carbon emissions from targeted energy savings is the equivalent of removing 126,500 cars from the road.

"Customers participating in these energy efficiency programs are a vital part of Ameren Missouri's goal of reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050," Forck said.

There is still time to take part in current energy efficiency opportunities offered through Ameren Missouri. Visit AmerenMissouri.com/EnergyEfficiency. Importantly for customers, there will be a seamless transition between the current and future offerings.

Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2 million electric and 130,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us at @AmerenMissouri or Facebook.com/AmerenMissouri.

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 Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, 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, including changes in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations and actions that change regulatory recovery mechanisms and the resulting impacts on our results of operations, financial position, and liquidity;
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 any challenges to the tax positions we have taken;
the effects on demand for our services resulting from technological advances, including advances in customer energy-efficiency 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;
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;
business and economic conditions, including their impact on interest rates, collection of our receivable balances, and demand for our products;
the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on us and our customers, including the impact of system outages;
the impact of current environmental regulations and new, more stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to CO₂and the related proposed repeal and replacement of the Clean Power Plan, other emissions and discharges, cooling water intake structures, CCR, and energy efficiency, that are enacted over time and that could limit or terminate the operation of certain of Ameren Missouri's energy centers, increase our 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 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 protect sensitive customer information, increases in rates, or negative media coverage;
the inability of our counterparties to meet their obligations with respect to contracts, credit agreements, and financial instruments; and
the impact of cyber attacks, 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.

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 Missouri