ST. LOUIS, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) released its latest climate report aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. The report highlights actions the company is taking to manage climate-related risks and transition to a cleaner energy future, achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.
"Climate change is a critical issue for our customers, our communities, our nation and our planet, and we are committed to doing our part. That's why we have taken an even more aggressive approach to address climate impacts," said Marty Lyons, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Corporation. "In 2022 we accelerated our goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by five years, from 2050 to 2045 – all while safeguarding energy affordability, reliability and resiliency for our customers."
The report includes scenario analysis evaluating the alignment of Ameren's current science-based carbon emissions reduction targets, as outlined in its Integrated Resource Plan. Ameren's emissions reduction targets are consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C. The analysis shows that Ameren's approach falls well within the range of scenarios that are aligned with this goal.
"As the climate risk landscape continues to evolve, we will work collaboratively with our key stakeholders so we can achieve our net-zero carbon emissions goal and preserve our shared environment," said Gwen Mizell, chief sustainability, diversity and philanthropy officer at Ameren. "We will continue to report on our progress toward this goal so we can reach Ameren's vision of a sustainable energy future for our region."
Notable changes since the May 2021 report include:
- Achieving a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and an 85% carbon emissions reduction by 2040, based on 2005 levels.
- Adding 2,400 megawatts (MW) of new clean renewable generation by 2030, and a total of 5,400 MW by 2040.
- Advancing the retirement of three of four coal-fired energy centers by 2030, with all coal retired by 2042.
- Targeting a 95% reduction in water withdrawal by 2045, based on a 2005 baseline.
- Making infrastructure investments to promote the adoption of electric vehicles and electric public transportation, including electrifying 35% of Ameren's vehicle fleet by 2030.
Ameren's climate report is one of several environmental reports the company publishes. Read the full reports at AmerenInvestors.com.
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 transmission and distribution service and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Missouri provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services, as well as natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois operates a rate-regulated electric transmission business in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. 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, projections, strategies, targets, estimates, 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 within Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, 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, that may change regulatory recovery mechanisms, such as those that may result from the impact of a final ruling to be issued by the United States Court for the Eastern District of Missouri regarding its September 2019 remedy order for the Rush Island Energy Center, the Missouri Public Service Commission (MoPSC) staff review of the planned Rush Island Energy Center retirement, Ameren Missouri's electric service regulatory rate review filed in August 2022 with the MoPSC, the August 2022 United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling that vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) return-on-equity (ROE)-determining orders and remanded the proceedings to the FERC, the July 2020 appeal filed by Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, and Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATXI) challenging the FERC's rehearing denials in the transmission formula rate revision cases, Ameren Illinois' electric distribution service rate reconciliation request filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC )in April 2022, and Ameren Illinois' annual electric energy-efficiency formula rate update filed with the ICC in June 2022;
- the effect on Ameren Missouri of any customer rate caps or limitations to increases to the electric service revenue requirement pursuant to Ameren Missouri's election to use the plant-in-service accounting regulatory mechanism;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, foreign trade, and energy policies;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws or rates, including as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as well as additional regulations, interpretations, amendments, or technical corrections to or in connection with the IRA, and challenges to the tax positions taken by the Ameren companies, if any, as well as resulting effects on customer rates;
- the effects on energy prices and demand for our services resulting from technological advances, including advances in customer energy efficiency, electric vehicles, electrification of various industries, 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 electric customer energy-efficiency goals and the resulting impact on its allowed ROE;
- our ability to control costs and make substantial investments in our businesses, including our ability to recover costs and investments, and to earn our allowed ROEs, within frameworks established by our regulators, while maintaining affordability of our services for our customers;
- the cost and availability of fuel, such as low-sulfur coal, natural gas, and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the cost and availability of natural gas for distribution and purchased power, including capacity, zero emission credits, renewable energy credits, emission allowances; and the level and volatility of future market prices for such commodities and credits;
- disruptions in the delivery of fuel, failure of our fuel suppliers to provide adequate quantities or quality of fuel, or lack of adequate inventories of fuel, including nuclear fuel assemblies from the one Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed supplier of such assemblies for Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center;
- the cost and availability of transmission capacity for the energy generated by Ameren Missouri's energy centers or required to satisfy Ameren Missouri's energy sales;
- the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use of financial and derivative instruments;
- the ability to obtain sufficient insurance, or in the absence of insurance, the ability to timely recover uninsured losses from our customers;
- the impact of cyberattacks and data security risks on us or our suppliers, which could, among other things, result in the loss of operational control of energy centers and electric and natural gas transmission and distribution systems and/or the loss of data, such as customer, employee, financial, and operating system information;
- business, economic, and capital market conditions, including the impact of such conditions on interest rates, inflation, and investments;
- disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in credit metrics of the Ameren companies, 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, including as they relate to the construction and acquisition of electric and natural gas utility infrastructure and the ability of counterparties to complete projects, which is dependent upon the availability of necessary materials and equipment, including those obligations that are affected by supply chain disruptions;
- the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on us and our customers, including the impact of system outages and the level of wind and solar resources;
- the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery of generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
- the effects of failures of electric generation, electric and natural gas transmission or distribution, or natural gas storage facilities systems and equipment, which could result in unanticipated liabilities or unplanned outages;
- the operation of Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center, including planned and unplanned outages, as well as the ability to recover costs associated with such outages and the impact of such outages on off-system sales and purchased power, among other things;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to recover the remaining investment and decommissioning costs associated with the retirement of an energy center, as well as the ability to earn a return on that remaining investment and those decommissioning costs;
- the impact of current environmental laws and new, more stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to the New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act and CO2, other emissions and discharges, Illinois emission standards, cooling water intake structures, coal combustion residuals, energy efficiency, and wildlife protection, 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 standards in Missouri and Illinois and with the zero emission standard in Illinois;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to construct and/or acquire wind, solar, and other renewable energy generation facilities and battery storage, as well as natural gas-fired combined cycle energy centers, retire energy centers, and implement new or existing customer energy-efficiency programs, including any such construction, acquisition, retirement, or implementation in connection with its Smart Energy Plan, integrated resource plan, or emissions reduction goals, and to recover its cost of investment, related return, and, in the case of customer energy-efficiency programs, any lost margins in a timely manner, which is affected by the ability to obtain all necessary regulatory and project approvals, including certificates of convenience and necessity from the MoPSC or any other required approvals for the addition of renewable resources;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to use or transfer federal production and investment tax credits related to renewable energy projects; the cost of wind, solar, and other renewable generation and storage technologies; and our ability to obtain timely interconnection agreements with the MISO or other regional transmission operators at an acceptable cost for each facility;
- advancements in energy technologies, including carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration, hydrogen fuel for electric production and energy storage, next generation nuclear, and large-scale long-cycle battery energy storage, and the impact of constructive federal and state energy and economic policies with respect to those technologies;
- 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, investors, legislators, regulators, or other stakeholders 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, negative media coverage, or concerns about ESG practices;
- the impact of adopting new accounting guidance;
- the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures;
- legal and administrative proceedings;
- the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, related sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other governments, and any broadening of the conflict, including potential impacts on the cost and availability of fuel, natural gas, enriched uranium, and other commodities, materials, and services, the inability of our counterparties to perform their obligations, disruptions in the capital and credit markets, and other impacts on business, economic, and geopolitical conditions, including inflation; 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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