Ameren Illinois Customers Will See Savings From New Energy Law

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., June 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Illinois customers are saving on their electric bill as a result of a new state law that went into effect on June 1.

The Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA), signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner on December 7, 2016, is expected to reduce Ameren Illinois residential customers' future bills by an average of $1.69 per month over 10 years.

"Customers in central and southern Illinois are reaping the benefits of Illinois' progressive energy policies," said Richard J. Mark, chairman and president of Ameren Illinois. "Energy companies, like Ameren Illinois, have an opportunity to continue modernizing our electric infrastructure, which has resulted in a 17 percent increase in system reliability for customers and created hundreds of direct and indirect jobs. We are also strengthening our investments in energy efficiency and giving more low-income families the opportunity to take advantage of energy-saving programs."

"From the first day this legislation was proposed, our singular focus was on ensuring Ameren Illinois customers would benefit from any bill before we would commit our support," Mark continued. "I want to thank leaders of the House and Senate, the Governor and regulators for working with us to keep the interests of downstate energy consumers in mind as this bill was negotiated." 

Under the new law, Ameren Illinois, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), expects to invest approximately $99 million in energy efficiency each year for the next four years. Over the past nine years, Ameren Illinois' energy efficiency programs have helped residential and business customers reduce their energy consumption by 11.8 million megawatts, the equivalent of 1.2 million homes' electricity use for one year. 

In addition to supporting new efficiency programs, FEJA will help keep two Exelon nuclear facilities in operation, preserve more than 4,000 jobs, and ensure the availability of lower-cost clean energy for consumers. It also significantly restructures the renewable portfolio standard mechanism, creating new opportunities for additional wind and solar resource development in Illinois.

Ameren Illinois customers can expect to save more money on their electric bill in 2018. Under a separate proposal filed April 13 with the Illinois Commerce Commission, the company announced its plans to decrease its delivery service rates in 2018. An Ameren Illinois residential customer who uses an average 10,000 kWh of electricity per year would save approximately $1.70 per month. The Commission is expected to issue its final order in December.

About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers in Illinois. Our mission is to power the quality of life. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com, find us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois or Facebook.

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, 2016, 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 any changes in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations, such as those that may result from Ameren Illinois' April 2017 annual electric distribution formula rate update filing, and future regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions that change regulatory recovery mechanisms;
• the effect of Ameren Illinois participating in a performance-based formula ratemaking process under the Illinois Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, including the direct relationship between Ameren Illinois' return on common equity and 30-year United States Treasury bond yields and the related financial commitments;
• 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 and any challenges to the tax positions taken by the Ameren Companies;
• 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;
• Ameren Illinois' achievement of FEJA electric energy efficiency goals and the resulting impact on its allowed return on program investments;
• our ability to align overall spending, both operating and capital, with frameworks established by our regulators in our attempt to earn our allowed return on equity;
• the timing of increasing capital expenditure and operating expense requirements and our ability to recover these costs in a timely manner;
• the cost and availability of purchased power, zero-energy credits, renewable energy credits, and natural gas for distribution; and the level and volatility of future market prices for such commodities, including our ability to recover the costs for such commodities and our customers' tolerance for the related rate increases;
• 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 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 effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures;
• the impact of current environmental regulations and new, more stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to carbon dioxide, other emissions and discharges, and energy efficiency, that are enacted over time and that could increase our costs or investment requirements, reduce our customers' demand for electricity or natural gas, or otherwise have a negative financial effect; 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.

SOURCE Ameren Illinois

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