CEO 14 • IN DEPTH - AMEREN p. 047 ceo-na.com UTILITIES INDUSTRY A Utility Company for the Future BY ANTHONY MORAN $2.6 billion Collinsville, US 3,340 (IL Segment) NYSE:AEE Richard J. Mark Revenue HQ Employees Stock Chairman and President / Ameren Illinois CEO of Ameren Illinois, Richard Mark, believes that the unique utilities market in the state of Illinois, along with the company’s growing deployment of technology, will enable it to serve the customers of today and tomorrow. and benefit customers by improving elec- tric and natural gas service reliability and “At Wright Tree Service, our keeping costs stable. company and daily operations are guided by a set of values: “I joined Ameren Illinois in June of 2012, safety, integrity, excellence, about a year after Illinois passed strategic teamwork, innovation, and legislation aimed at modernizing the elec- family. Ameren shares tric grid,” Mark told CEO Magazine in an our commitment to these exclusive interview. “It not only made our values, and we are proud to delivery system harder and more storm re- partner with them to provide FOR CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT, Richard silient, but it was also about looking into safe, reliable power to the J. Mark, Ameren Illinois is an energy com- the future of what businesses wanted in community.” pany like few others thanks to the unique terms of how automation and a smarter way the energy sector in Illinois has been grid could bring economic development to SCOTT PACKARD / CHAIRMAN AND deregulated in recent years. Not only do the state. I remember telling my team that CEO OF WRIGHT TREE SERVICE customers have the freedom to choose we’re going to build the grid that our kids’ from whom they acquire their electric kids will need and utilize 50 or 60 years supply, but Ameren Illinois and its fellow from now.” er of St. Louis, Missouri’s Union Electric public utilities also operate under the prin- Company and the neighboring Central ciple of performance-driven formula rate Ameren Illinois is part of the Ameren Cor- Illinois Public Service Company (CIPS- making—enabling the company to both poration, an American power company CO Inc. Holding) of Springfield, Illinois. stay focused on its investment strategy, created on December 31, 1997, by the merg- Based in St. Louis, Ameren Corporation CEO 14 • IN DEPTH - AMEREN December 2019 - January 2020 p. 048 now acts as a holding company for sev- AMEREN Illinois’ footprint is larger than the state eral power and energy companies, with SERVICE TERRITORY of Indiana. Ameren Illinois serving 1.2 million elec- tric and 816,000 natural gas customers In 1995 shareholders of both CIPSCO Inc. EXPECT THE EXTRA MILE across 43,700 square miles in the southern and of its neighboring utility of twice its four-fifths of Illinois. Looking at a map size, the S&P 500-listed Union Electric There will always be obstacles that threaten to derail your growth plans. of the United States’ Midwest, Ameren Company, approved the merger of the two companies, which were to then be As your trusted business partner, our job is to keep your business on the combined as Ameren Corporation. Both right track. As Ameren’s trusted business partner, Fletcher-Reinhardt of those former utilities had traded pub- Co. and Hubbell Power Systems have teamed up to deliver supply chain “It was (…) about looking into licly on the New York Stock Exchange. At excellence beyond their destination. the future of what businesses the time of the merger, Union Electric had wanted in terms of how assets of nearly $600 million and CIPSCO automation and a smarter about $210 million. Following the merg- grid could bring economic er, Union Electric began doing business development to the state. I as AmerenUE, now known as Ameren remember telling my team that Missouri. Today, with nine power plants we’re going to build the grid Ameren Missouri serves over 1 million mil- that our kids’ kids will need lion power customers and 110,000 gas cus- and utilize 50 or 60 years from tomers, in Missouri, where more than half now.” Headquarters of its customers reside in St. Louis. Electric Service Territory RICHARD J. MARK / CHAIRMAN AND Electric & Natural Gas Territory In 2004, Ameren acquired from Dynegy PRESIDENT OF AMEREN ILLINOIS Inc. its third partner from the 1952 Mid- Fletcher-Reinhardt Co. Bridgeton, MO hubbellpowersystems.com NEW Granite City, IL Cedar Rapids, IA AD_00_186_E AD00186E_CEO Mag Ad_1119.indd 1 11/14/19 12:51 PM CEO 14 • IN DEPTH - AMEREN December 2019 - January 2020 p. 050 • KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT • WHAT IT WILL COST west Power Pool system, Illinois Power THE DIGITAL WORKS 1980s, the company generated electricity Company. That utility had traded pub- OF AMEREN ILLINOIS and natural gas, almost entirely from coal licly on the NYSE through the 1980s, and plants, with less than 1% fueled from oil • TRUST THAT paid dividends since 1947. As of the late and gas. In 1991, with about $360 million in assets, Illinois Power became the sub- SAFETY IS sidiary of holding company Illinova Corp. In a merger completed in 2000, Illinova “E2 is a proud strategic As Ameren Illinois thrives to power the Corp. became a wholly owned subsidiary quality of life of millions of people through- OUR PRIORITY partner in delivering Ameren’s out Illinois and Missouri, the company has of Dynegy Inc., in which Chevron Corpo- transmission and distribution built a culture of leadership that fosters ration also took a 28% stake. Dynegy in projects. Our successful innovation to drive growth by exploring turn had been created in June 1998, from emerging technologies and implementing relationship is based on the new platforms. the merger of Chevron’s natural gas and alignment of core values and natural gas liquids businesses with Dyn- our shared commitment to From process automation to state-of-the- egy’s predecessor, NGC Corp. art Smart Grid communications networks, safety, integrity, collaboration, Ameren is enabling smart technology infra- and diversity. We commend structure for improved safety and reliability Following the 2004 Ameren acquisition Ameren for its vision in the to improve operational efficiency, provide of the IP utility, that subsidiary became jfelectric.com energy sector and look forward a differentiating customer and co-worker AmerenIP. In 2010, all utilities merged to experience, deliver technologies to cus- to our continued partnership. tomers, and enable the best and brightest become Ameren Illinois Company. digital talent to lead today and transform HERSH SALUJA / CEO OF E2 tomorrow. “We cover approximately two thirds of the UTILITY | COMMERCIAL | INDUSTRIAL | TELECOM Utilitra_CEO_FullPageAd.pdf 1 11/15/19 9:05 AM CEO 14 • IN DEPTH - AMEREN December 2019 - January 2020 p. 052 TRUSTED state, so there’s a lot of opportunities for manufacturing and industrial expansion in Illinois,” Mark explained. “One of the things companies look at when they’re thinking about expanding is whether there’s land available at a good price. Secondly, is the electric and natural gas infrastructure go- ing to be there to meet their needs? That’s where we come into play. Not only are we making sure we have the smart infrastruc- ture ready, but that it’s robust, reliable, and above all, affordable.” STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS Mark credits the unique performance-driv- en formula rate making system in Illinois INNOVATIVE For example (…) it was very C important for a large industrial customer of ours that they M have a sufficiently sized natural Y gas pipeline in order to make CM the decision as to whether they MY would stay in that community CY or not. And we were able to CMY make sure that happened by K making the necessary strategic investment and upgrading the pipeline.” UNRIVALED RICHARD J. MARK / CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT OF AMEREN ILLINOIS STRONG RELIABILITY Ameren’s electric distribution reliability performance has improved, as measured by the System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI). This important industry benchmark shows how we have reduced the total number of interruptions per customer served per year. AFFORDABLE RATES, ¢/KWH 1.25 Ameren Illinois 10.42 Ameren Missouri 10.61 Midwest Average 12.92 1.00 U.S. Average 13.24 Ameren Missouri’s residential rates are 18% lower than Midwest Average and 20% lower than the US Average. 0.75 Ameren Illinois’s residential rates are 19% lower than Midwest Average and 21% lower 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 than the US Average CEO 14 • IN DEPTH - AMEREN December 2019 - January 2020 p. 056 Discover the POWER of PAR “For over 10 years, Zempleo AMEREN CORPORATION AT-A-GLANCE has been privileged to partner with to support Ameren 2.4 MILLION their diversity goals through 8,800 ELECTRIC EMPLOYEES our workforce solutions. CUSTOMERS Advanced technological methods of Our partnership and shared $182 MILLION commitment to diversity ANNUAL FUNDING OF ELECTRIC AND 900,000+ NATURAL GAS remains steadfast and will NATURAL GAS EFFICIENCY delivering distribution services, safely CUSTOMERS continue to be the foundation of PROGRAMS IN 2018 success.” Since 1954, PAR Electrical Contractors, Inc. has applied its fully-integrated 50% BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBERS 5,000+ SABRINA CHISHOLM / PRESIDENT OF ZEMPLEO HOURS OF VOLUTEER engineering, procurement and construction expertise to its distribution work. WHO ARE WOMEN OR WORK ETHNICALLY DIVERSE We utilize newly developed applications and advancements to perform both new plant installation and overhead and underground cable replacement on for giving Ameren the regulatory certain- $624 MILLION ty to make investments in the energy grid 64,000 SPENT WITH DIVERSE SUPPLIERS a scale matched by few other U.S. contractors. SQUARE MILES REPRESENTING 25% OF TOTAL and earn a predictable return on those in- SERVICE TERRITORY vestments.