Ameren Bolsters Energy Infrastructure in Midwest with $1.2 Billion in Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) (St. Louis, Missouri) began to see some of its big-ticket infrastructure investments pay off in first-quarter 2019, with higher net income in each of its major segments attributed to expansions and capacity additions. Industrial Info is tracking nearly $1.2 billion in active projects involving Ameren, including more than $780 million worth that are under construction.

Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing Ameren's active projects, by U.S. state.

Among Ameren's highest-profile projects to be near the finish line is its sprawling Mark Twain Transmission Line, a 96-mile, 345-kilovolt project running from Ameren's existing Maywood Substation in Palmyra, Missouri, to a tie-in at the Iowa/Missouri state line. In March, project officials told local commissioners that the line could begin service as early as mid-June, and that nearly all landowners impacted by the project have signed agreements with the utility, according to ABC/CBS affiliate KTVO in Kirksville, Missouri.

The first leg of the transmission line, the $115 million Palmyra-to-Kirksville segment, runs 59.5 miles from the Maywood Substation to Ameren's $21 million Zachary Substation in Kirksville, also under construction. The second leg, the $71 million Kirksville-to-Iowa segment, runs 34.9 miles from the Zachary Substation to the state border with Iowa. Ameren also is performing an $18.3 million expansion of the Adair Substation in Kirksville, which services the line. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Palmyra-to-Kirksville segment, the Kirksville-to-Iowa segment, the Zachary Substation and the Adair Substation.

Other major projects under construction include two key parts of Ameren's 500-mile Grand Rivers project, which will connect various points in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. The $383 million Big Muddy River Transmission Line in Illinois, which is set to wrap up early next year, will originate at a substation in Grand Towers and run 185 miles, connecting with substations in Baldwin, Joppa and West Frankfort. The $111 million Newton-Huntsville Transmission Line, which runs 52 miles from the Newton Substation in Hutsonville, Illinois, to a substation in Merom, Indiana, is set to be completed next summer. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Big Muddy River and Newton-Huntsville lines.

Grand Rivers also includes the Illinois River Transmission Line, most of which has been completed. Two proposed segments remain in the planning phase: a $45 million segment from Kansas, Illinois, to Sugar Creek, Illinois, which would run 76 miles, and the $65 million segment from Decatur to Kansas, Illinois, which would run 52 miles. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Kansas-to-Sugar Creek and Decatur-to-Kansas segments.

"During the first three months of this year, we invested significant capital in each of our business segments to better serve our customers," said Warner Baxter, the chief financial officer of Ameren, in a quarterly earnings-related conference call. "Each segment is carrying out comprehensive grid modernization plans, and we continue to believe the pipeline of potential investments remains robust."

Other projects from Ameren include $60 million in turbine replacements at a hydropower station in Keokuk, Iowa, which sits on the border with Missouri. The company is replacing four older turbines with new Francis turbines, with a total output of 36 MW. It is expected to wrap up in the fourth quarter. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Ameren's first-quarter net income was reported to be $191 million, a 26.5% increase from the same period last year; revenues of $1.56 billion were 1.8% lower.

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