AmerenUE to ask for rate increase
Facing rising costs for everything from coal and natural gas to electric transformers and copper wire, AmerenUE will ask Missouri regulators this spring for permission to increase electric rates.
Ameren Corp. executives, speaking to financial analysts in New York on Thursday, didn’t specify how large of an increase they’ll seek or exactly when they’ll file the request. In May, The Missouri Public Service Commission approved a $43 million increase in electric rates — the first such increase for AmerenUE in two decades.
For years, Ameren and many other utilities saw costs decline, leading to flat or lower electric rates. But those days are over, Chief Executive Gary L. Rainwater said. Today, the company faces higher costs in almost every area of its business, especially fuel used to run its fleet of power plants. “We’re no longer a declining cost industry,” he said.
Ameren’s Illinois utilities sought a $247 million increase in electric and natural gas rates in November. Neither that rate case nor the expected request in Missouri this year will impact the company’s earnings until 2009, executives said.
The company expects 2008 earnings per share will be $2.80 to $3.20 a share, excluding certain costs. That’s about the same amount the company earned in 2007, and less than Wall Street analysts expected. On that basis, Ameren was expected to earn $3.57 a share this year.
“Earnings in 2008 are expected to be negatively impacted by rising costs and investments, most notably in our regulated businesses,” Rainwater said. “Current rate levels are not sufficient to recover our existing costs.”
Ameren shares fell $1.13 to $49.43 at 12:30 p.m. The stock has lost nearly $4 a share in the past 10 days.
You have got to be kidding me. They want more money?? Here’s a suggestion, perhaps if they kept everyone’s power on all year long they would generate enough revenue to not ask for a pay hike. If ever I have to sit in my house without power again they can sit and wait for their pay!!! See what it feels like to wait for something.
wow, what nerve, we just had a power outage the other day in 63139 area for about 2 hours. I would like to go to back in time to old days when the electric stayed on. This outage was not due to weather. Within the last 7 years, they updated our lines in the neighborhood, and ever since then, we experienced the most outages ! I lived here over 45 years and we hardly ever had a outage on our block. Now it is ever few months, sometimes due to weather and now, who knows what the problem is ! Amerenue has a really bad reputation now these last few years, but they deserve it. More money will not fix their troubles.
I wondered how long it would take for Amren to start charging us for their Tom Sauk powerplant debacle. It was just a matter of time…
I guess everyone wants to go back to the old days when everything cost less money and nobody cared about about the environment. A clean reliable electric generation and distribtuion system isn’t free. Compare your electric rates with other region of the country and you will find that have some of the lowest electric rates.
Of course they’re going to raise the rates, it’s not like people can afford what they’re charging now… they just have to keep jabbing at us. What do we matter to them? We’re nothing but money in their pocket, not actual customers. Customers have a choice, and many of us don’t have that choice in this situation.
Perhaps if Ameren didn’t pay for billboards, advertise at Cardinals games, advertise at Blues games, and advertise at Rams games, it would have plenty of money to upgrade its power plants. There is no real need to advertise when you have a regulated monopoly.
You guys have some of the lowest rates in the country, stop bitching which is so typical of STL. Start earning more money, go back to school and boost your income. This is life deal with it.
Perhaps if Ameren quit advertising at Cardinals, Rams, and Blues games (and quit putting up billboards along highways) they would have plenty of money to upgrade their power plants. There isn’t a need to advertise when you are a regulated monopoly.
Ah the public utility. What a wonderful business to be in. Losing money, raise rates. Need to make improvements, raise rates. Not getting a return for shareholders, raise rates.
What are you going to do? Nothing. They have the Power. Buhhahahahahhaha
I think the general public should ban together against hikes like this. We shouldn’t pay the increase if it passes. Everyone should continue to pay the same amount as they had in the past. Ameren can’t shut everyone off for not paying.