Mark Twain Transmission Project achieves major milestone

Project's Zachary Substation energized

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Jul 08, 2019, 07:30 ET

ST. LOUIS, July 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATXI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), has energized the Zachary Substation and approximately 32 miles of transmission line from Kirksville to the Iowa border. As part of the Mark Twain Transmission Project, a 96-mile, 345,000-volt transmission line in northeast Missouri, the substation and line were energized June 30 and marks a milestone in the construction process. While line construction on this section is complete, crews will still be in the area performing removals, clean up and restoration for the next several months.

The foundation and line construction crews are moving their teams to start building the line section between Palmyra and Kirksville which will be completed later this year. When complete, the project is expected to provide local and regional benefits, including improved energy-grid reliability, increased transmission capacity and greater access to renewable sources such as wind.

"We are grateful for the feedback and cooperation we received from landowners, communities and local officials," said Shawn E. Schukar, chairman and president of ATXI. "This kind of collaboration, combined with the strong relationship we have with our contract partners, allowed us to successfully achieve this project milestone and is a significant step toward delivering greater energy reliability and improved access to clean energy sources for the people in northeast Missouri."

ATXI expects to invest $250 million on the Mark Twain Transmission Project. The anticipated in-service date for the 96-mile line is December 2019.

The Mark Twain Transmission Project was approved in 2011 by the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO), a regional transmission organization. The Mark Twain Transmission Project is part of a coordinated, multi-state group of transmission projects – known as Multi-Value Projects – being developed by MISO to improve and strengthen the regional energy grid. There are three Multi-Value Projects in ATXI's project portfolio. The first ATXI Multi-Value Project was completed in February 2018.

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 Independent System Operator tariff proposed by the FERC in November 2018, the Notices of Inquiry issued by the FERC in March 2019, , and future regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions that change regulatory recovery mechanisms;
the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and energy policies;
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 effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use of financial and derivative instruments;
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 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, 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 transmission and distribution assets;
the effects of breakdowns or failures of electric transmission or distribution equipment or facilities, which could result in unanticipated liabilities or unplanned outages;
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.

About Ameren Corporation
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.

SOURCE Ameren Corporation