Ameren

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Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE is a holding company for several power companies and energy companies. The company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Ameren is a portmanteau for "American" and "Energy".

Ameren is the holding company for the following:

AmerenCILCO, formerly Central Illinois Light Company
AmerenCIPS, formerly Central Illinois Public Service Company
AmerenIP, formerly Illinois Power Company
AmerenUE, formerly Union Electric Company
AmerenEnergy
AmerenEnergy Resources

The AmerenUE subsidiary owns Bagnell Dam on the Osage River, which forms the Lake of the Ozarks. AmerenUE is responsible for managing water levels on the lake according to federal regulations; if levels are not appropriate, the lake must be closed until Ameren can solve the problem.

1 Taum Sauk pumped storage plant
2 Power Outages
3 Recent Criticisms
4 References
5 External links
- 5.1 Taum Sauk

[edit] Taum Sauk pumped storage plant

Main article: Taum Sauk pumped storage plant

A large section of the Taum Sauk upper reservoir failed, draining over a billion gallons of water in less than half an hour.

AmerenUE also owns the Taum Sauk pumped storage plant, which failed on December 14, 2005, because Ameren pumped water over the upper reservoir wall. FERC fined Ameren $15 million. The State of Missouri has sued Ameren for actual and punitive damages, alleging Ameren recklessly operated the plant and put financial considerations from sale of power to other companies over safety, maintenance and engineering. The plant was operated by remote control with no one onsite during pumping operations.

[edit] Power Outages

Ameren has had a number of severe outages affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Many attribute this to cost cutting measures which limited the line inspection and tree trimming.

[edit] Recent Criticisms

2007 marked the end of a freeze on energy prices in Illinois. AmerenIP/AmerenCILCO/AmerenCIPS have been criticized for not making proper preparations for the hikes in energy prices which will be passed-on to customers. According to Ameren, customers can expect to see their electricity bills increase by 22% to 55%. However, media reports that some bills are increasing much more, up to 150%. *Belleville News Democrat - Ameren bills seen doubling in some cases.