Earnings Call Transcript - AEE Q2 2021

Operator, Operator

Greetings. Welcome to Ameren Corporation’s Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Call. Please note this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Andrew Kirk, Director of Investor Relations for Ameren Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Kirk. You may begin.

Andrew Kirk, Director of Investor Relations

Thank you and good morning. On the call with me today are Warner Baxter, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and Michael Moehn, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer as well as other members of the Ameren management team joining us remotely. Warner and Michael will discuss our earnings results and guidance as well as provide a business update. Then we will open the call for questions. Before we begin, let me cover a few administrative details. This call contains time-sensitive data that is accurate only as of the date of today’s live broadcast and redistribution of this broadcast is prohibited. To assist with our call this morning, we have posted a presentation on the amereninvestors.com homepage that will be referenced by our speakers. As noted on Page 2 of the presentation, comments made during this conference call may contain statements that are commonly referred to as forward-looking statements. Such statements include those about future expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, strategies, targets, estimates, objectives, events, conditions and financial performance. We caution you that various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. For additional information concerning these factors, please read the forward-looking statements section in the news release we issued yesterday and the forward-looking statements and risk factors sections in our filings with the SEC. Lastly, all per share earnings amounts discussed during today’s presentation, including earnings guidance, are presented on a diluted basis, unless otherwise noted. Now, here is Warner, who will start on Page 4 of our presentation.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Andrew. Good morning, everyone and thank you for joining us. This morning, I will begin with the statement that I have been making for quite some time now. Simply put, our team continues to effectively execute our strategic plan across all of our businesses, which includes making significant investments in our energy infrastructure to enhance the reliability and resiliency of the energy grid as well as transition to a cleaner energy future in a responsible fashion. These investments, coupled with our continued focus on disciplined cost management, are delivering significant value to our customers, communities and shareholders. Moving now to our second quarter earnings results, yesterday, we announced second quarter 2021 earnings of $0.80 per share. Our earnings were down $0.18 per share from the same time period in 2020, primarily due to a change in the seasonal electric rate design at Ameren Missouri that reduced earnings $0.19 per share. The impact of this change in rate design will reverse in the third quarter of 2021 and is not expected to impact full year results. Michael will discuss the other key drivers of our strong quarter earnings results a bit later. Due to the continued strong execution of our strategy, I am pleased to report that we remain on track to deliver within our 2021 earnings guidance range of $3.65 per share to $3.85 per share. Speaking of the execution of our strategy, let’s move to Page 5, where we reiterate our strategic plan. The first pillar of our strategy stresses investing in and operating our utilities in a manner consistent with existing regulatory frameworks. This has driven our multiyear focus on investing in energy infrastructure with a long-term benefit for our customers. As a result and as you can see on the right side of this page, during the first six months of this year, we invested significant capital in each of our business segments, including wind generation at Ameren Missouri, which I will discuss later. These investments are delivering value to our customers. As I said before, our energy grid is stronger, more resilient and more secure because of the investments we are making in all four business segments. Consistent with the Missouri Smart Energy Plan, we have made significant investments to harden the energy grid, which has reduced outages, and installed nearly 300,000 electric smart meters for customers. These smart meters will help customers better manage their usage and control their overall energy costs. In Illinois, we continue to execute on our electric distribution and gas modernization action plans. The plans include investments to strengthen electric power poles, replace gas transmission pipelines and compression-coupled steel mains, as well as implement new efficiency measures, including mobile enhanced communications and assessment capabilities for our crews. These improvements, along with our investments in outage detection technology, were resulting in improvements in system reliability and millions of dollars in savings for customers. Moving now to regulatory matters, in late March, Ameren Missouri filed a request for a $299 million increase in annual electric service revenues and a $9 million increase in annual natural gas revenues with the Missouri Public Service Commission. In our Illinois Electric business, we requested a $60 million base rate increase in our required annual electric distribution rate filing. These proceedings are all moving along on schedule. We will be able to provide you information on these proceedings as they develop later this summer and into the fall. Finally, we have remained relentlessly focused on continuous improvement and disciplined cost management, including retaining the cost savings that we realized in 2020 due to the actions we took to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. Moving to Page 6 and the second pillar of our strategy, enhancing regulatory frameworks and advocating for responsible energy and economic policies. Starting in Missouri, in May, the Missouri legislature passed the bill allowing for securitization in the state. This constructive legislation, which is expected to be effective in July, gives us another important regulatory tool to facilitate our transition to a cleaner energy future in a cost-effective manner for our customers. However, as we have stated in the past, a robust integrated resource plan does not rely on securitization to be successful. Our flexible and responsible plan, which includes approximately $8 billion of investments in renewable energy through 2040, the retirement of all of our coal-fired energy centers and extending the life of our carbon-free Callaway nuclear energy center, focuses on getting the energy we provide to our customers as clean as we can, as fast as we can without compromising reliability, customer affordability and the evolution of new clean energy technologies. And as I will touch on later, I am pleased to say that we are already taking steps to implement this important plan for our customers, the State of Missouri and our country. Moving now to Illinois, last month, the Illinois Commerce Commission approved Ameren Illinois' electric vehicle charging program. Under this program, we are able to support the development of a network of charging infrastructure in Central and Southern Illinois as well as implement special time-based delivery service rates and other incentives to help encourage the use of electric vehicles. We are excited about this new program because it will drive greater electrification of the transportation sector as well as help the state of Illinois move towards its clean energy goals. Moving to legislative efforts, as many of you know, we have been working to enhance the regulatory framework for our Illinois Electric business. The performance-based regulatory framework in place today has delivered strong value for customers and shareholders over the years. However, the framework is scheduled to sunset in 2022. As a result, we have been working with key stakeholders to develop constructive long-term regulatory policies that support important investments in energy infrastructure while enabling us to earn fair returns on those investments. As you know, throughout the regular legislative session, which ended late May, we advocated for the Downstate Clean Energy Affordability Act which largely extended the existing framework until 2032 while putting in place provisions that would set the Ameren Illinois electric distribution ROE at the national average. At the same time, many other energy-related legislative proposals from other stakeholders were proposed during the legislative session, including proposals from the governor, labor and environmental groups, to address the closure of nuclear plants in the state, Illinois clean energy transition and the electric distribution framework going forward. For months, stakeholders have been in discussion seeking to find an appropriate compromise to all these proposals. While progress was made on these issues, the regular legislative session ended on May 31 with no energy legislation being put before the Senate or House of Representatives for a vote. A special session was called in mid-June to further discuss draft energy legislation, but no bill was filed nor action taken. Needless to say, we will continue to work with key stakeholders to find a constructive solution to this important matter. Turning to Page 7 for an update on FERC regulatory matters, in April, FERC issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking, or NOPR, on electric transmission return on equity incentive adder for participation in the regional transmission organization, or RTO. As you may recall, under the NOPR, the RTO incentive adder would be removed from utilities that have been members of an RTO for three years or more, like Ameren Illinois and ATXI. We have been very clear that we disagreed with FERC's proposed recommendation in this matter for a number of reasons and recently filed comments strongly opposing the removal of the adder. Of course, we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome or timing of this matter as FERC is under no timeline to issue a decision. In addition, in June, FERC issued an order establishing a joint federal-state task force on electric transmission. This order establishes a first-of-its-kind task force to respond with state commissions’ transmission-related issues including how to plan and pay for transmission facilities, recognizing that federal and state regulators share authority over different aspects of these transmission-related issues. The task force will be comprised of the FERC commissioners and representatives nominated by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners from 10 state commissions. The first public meeting is expected to be held this fall. Also last month, FERC issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking related to regional transmission planning and cost allocation processes, including critical long-term planning for anticipated future generation needs. We continue to assess the matters in the advanced NOPR and expect to file comments with FERC this fall. Again, we are unable to predict the ultimate timing or outcome of this matter as FERC is under no timeline to issue a decision. Speaking to plans for future transmission, please turn to Page 8. As I discussed on the call in May, MISO completed a study outlining a potential roadmap of transmission projects through 2039, taking into consideration the rapidly evolving generation mix that includes significant additions of renewable generation based on announced utility integrated resource plans, state mandates and goals for clean energy or carbon emission reductions, among other things. Under MISO’s Future 1 scenario, which is the scenario that resulted in an approximate 60% carbon-emission reduction below 2005 levels by 2039, MISO estimates approximately $30 billion of future transmission investment in the MISO footprint. Further, MISO’s Future 3 scenario resulted in an 80% reduction in carbon emissions below 2005 levels by 2039. Under this scenario, MISO estimates approximately $100 billion of transmission investment in the MISO footprint will be needed. It is clear that investment in transmission is going to play a critical role in the clean energy transition and we are well-positioned to plan and execute potential projects in the future for the benefit of our customers and country. We continue to work with MISO and other key stakeholders and believe certain projects outlined in Future 1 are likely to be included in this year’s MISO transmission planning process, which is currently scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, it is possible the process could go into the first quarter of 2022. Moving now to Page 9 for an update on our $1.1 billion wind generation investment related to the acquisition of 700 megawatts of new wind generation at two sites in Missouri. Ameren Missouri closed on the acquisition of its first wind energy center, a 400 megawatt project in Northeast Missouri in December. In January, Ameren Missouri acquired a second wind generation project, the 300 megawatt Atchison Renewable Energy Center located in Northwest Missouri. I am pleased to report that as of the end of the second quarter, the Atchison Renewable Energy Center is now in service. With both facilities now operating, it marks a key milestone as we continue to transition our energy portfolio towards a cleaner energy future. Turning now to Page 10 and an update on Missouri’s Callaway Energy Center. As we have previously discussed, during its return to full power, as part of its 24th refueling and maintenance outage in late December 2020, Callaway experienced a non-nuclear operating issue related to its generator. A thorough investigation of this matter was conducted and a decision was made to rewind the generator stator and rotor in order to safely and sustainably return the energy center to service. I am pleased to report that the generator project was executed very well and that the energy center returned to service on August 4. The completion of this project positions Callaway for a sustainable long-term future. The cost of the capital project was approximately $60 million. As we have said previously, the insurance claims for the capital project and replacement power have been accepted by our insurance carrier, which will mitigate the impacts of this outage for our customers. In addition, we do not expect this matter to have a significant impact on Ameren’s financial results. Turning to Page 11, we remain focused on delivering a sustainable energy future for our customers, communities and our country. This page summarizes our strong sustainability value proposition for environmental, social and governance matters and is consistent with our vision: leading the way to a sustainable energy future. Beginning with environmental stewardship, last September, Ameren announced its transformational plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 across all of our operations in Missouri and Illinois. This plan includes interim carbon-emission reduction targets of 50% and 85% below 2005 levels in 2030 and 2040 respectively and is consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We also have a strong long-term commitment to our customers and communities to be socially responsible and economically impactful. Finally, our strong corporate governance is led by a diverse Board of Directors focused on strong oversight that’s aligned with ESG matters. Our executive compensation practices include performance metrics that are tied to sustainable long-term performance, diversity, equity and inclusion and progress towards a cleaner, sustainable energy future. I encourage you to take some time to read more about our strong sustainability value proposition. You can find all of our ESG-related reports at amereninvestors.com. Turning now to Page 12, looking ahead, we have a strong sustainable growth proposition, which will be driven by a robust pipeline of investment opportunities of over $40 billion over the next decade that will deliver significant value to all our stakeholders in making the energy grid stronger, smarter and cleaner. Importantly, these investment opportunities exclude any new multi-value transmission projects, including the potential roadmap of MISO transmission projects I discussed earlier, all of which would increase the reliability and resiliency of the energy grid as well as enable our country’s transition to a cleaner energy future. In addition, we expect to see greater focus from a policy perspective and infrastructure investments to support the electrification of the transportation sector. Our outlook through 2030 does not include significant electric infrastructure investments for electrification at this time. Of course, our investment opportunities will not only create a stronger and cleaner energy grid to meet our customers’ needs and exceed their expectations, but they would also create thousands of jobs for our local economies. Maintaining constructive energy policies that support robust investment in energy infrastructure and a transition to a cleaner energy future in a safe, reliable and affordable fashion will be critical to meeting our country’s future energy needs and delivering on our customers’ expectations. Moving to Page 13, to sum up our value proposition, we remain firmly convinced that the execution of our strategy in 2021 and beyond will deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders and the environment. In February, we issued our five-year growth outlook, which included a 6% to 8% compound annual earnings growth rate from 2021 to 2025. This earnings growth is primarily driven by strong rate base growth and compares very favorably with our regulated utility peers. Importantly, our five-year earnings and rate base growth projections do not include 1,200 megawatts of incremental renewable investment opportunities outlined in Ameren Missouri’s integrated resource plan. Our team continues to assess several renewable generation proposals from developers. We expect to file this year with the Missouri PSC for certificates of convenience and necessity for a portion of these planned renewable investments. I am confident in our ability to execute our investment plans and strategies across all four of our business segments. We have an experienced and dedicated team to get it done. That fact, coupled with our sustained past execution and our strategy on many fronts has positioned us well for future success. Further, our shares continue to offer investors a solid dividend, which we expect to grow in line with our long-term earnings per share growth guidance. Simply put, we believe our strong earnings and dividend growth outlook results in a very attractive total return opportunity for shareholders. Again, thank you all for joining us today. I will now turn to Michael.

Michael Moehn, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Warner and good morning everyone. Turning now to Page 15 of our presentation, yesterday, we reported second quarter 2021 earnings of $0.80 per share compared to $0.98 per share for the year-ago quarter. Earnings in Ameren Missouri, our largest segment, decreased $0.18 per share, driven primarily by a change in seasonal electric rate design, resulting from the March 2020 rate order, which provided for winter rates in May and summer rates in September rather than the blended rates used in both months in 2020. The rate design change decreased earnings $0.19 per share and is not expected to impact full year results. Earnings were also impacted by the timing of income tax expense, which decreased earnings $0.03 per share and is not expected to impact full year results. As Warner mentioned, during the quarter, we remained relentlessly focused on continuous improvement and disciplined cost management and have been able to largely maintain the level of operations and maintenance savings this quarter that we experienced during the year-ago period, which was significantly affected by COVID-19. The increase in other operations and maintenance expenses, which decreased earnings $0.02 per share, was primarily due to more favorable market returns on the cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance in the year-ago period. As you can see, we have worked hard this year to control costs where we can. The amortization of deferred expenses related to the fall 2020 Callaway Energy Center scheduled refueling and maintenance outage and higher interest expense primarily due to higher long-term debt balances outstanding also decreased earnings $0.02 per share. These factors were partially offset by an increase in earnings of $0.05 per share due to increased investments in infrastructure and wind generation, eligible for plant and service accounting and the Renewable Energy Standard Rate Adjustment Mechanism, or RESRAM. Higher electric retail sales also increased earnings by approximately $0.04 per share, largely due to continued economic recovery in this year’s second quarter compared to the unfavorable impacts of COVID-19 in the year-ago period. We’ve included on this page the year-over-year weather-normalized sales variances for the quarter. Overall weather-normalized sales are largely consistent with our expectations outlined in our call in February as we still expect total sales to be up approximately 2% in 2021 compared to 2020. Moving to other segments, Ameren Transmission earnings declined $0.03 per share over the year, which reflected the absence of the prior year benefit from the May 2020 FERC order addressing the allowed base return on equity, which more than offset earnings on increased infrastructure investment. Earnings for Ameren Missouri natural gas decreased $0.01 per share. Increased delivery service rates that became effective in late January 2021 were offset by a change in rate design, which is not expected to impact full year results. Ameren Illinois electric distribution earnings increased $0.02 per share, which reflected increased infrastructure investments and a higher allowed ROE under performance-based rate making. Ameren parent and other results were also up $0.02 per share compared to the second quarter of 2020 primarily due to the timing of income tax expense, which is not expected to impact full year results. And finally, 2021 earnings per share reflected higher weighted average shares outstanding. Before moving on, I will touch on year-to-date sales trends for Illinois Electric distribution. Weather normalized kilowatt hour sales to Illinois residential customers decreased 1%. And weather normalized kilowatt hour sales to Illinois commercial and industrial customers increased 2.5% and 2% respectively. Recall that changes in electric sales in Illinois, no matter the cause, do not affect our earnings since we have full revenue decoupling. Turning to Page 16, now I’d like to briefly touch on key drivers impacting our 2021 earnings guidance. We’re off to a strong first half in 2021. And as Warner stated, we continue to expect 2021 diluted earnings to be in the range of $3.65 to $3.85 per share. Select earnings considerations for the balance of the year are listed on this page and are supplemental to the key drivers and assumptions discussed on our earnings call in February. I will note that our third quarter earnings comparison will be positively impacted by approximately $0.19 per share due to the seasonal electric rate design change effective in 2021 at Ameren Missouri that we discussed earlier. Moving now to Page 17 for an update on our regulatory matters. Starting with Ameren Missouri, as you recall, on March 31, we filed for a $299 million electric revenue increase with the Missouri Public Service Commission. The request includes a 9.9% return on equity, a 51.9% equity ratio and a September 30, 2021 estimated rate base of $10 billion. Direct testimony will be filed in early September with rebuttal testimony by October 15. Evidentiary hearings are scheduled to begin in late November. In addition, on March 31, we filed for a $9 million natural gas revenue increase with the Missouri PSC. The request includes a 9.8% return on equity, a 51.9% equity ratio and a September 30, 2021 estimated rate base of $310 million. A Missouri PSC decision in both rate reviews is expected by early February, with new rates expected to be effective by late February. Moving down to Illinois regulatory matters, in April, we made our required annual electric distribution rate update filing. Under Illinois performance-based ratemaking, these annual rate updates systematically adjust cash flows over time for changes in cost of service and true up any prior period over or under recovery of such costs. In late June, the ICC staff recommended a $54 million base rate increase compared to our request of a $60 million base rate increase. An ICC decision is expected in December with new rates expected to be effective in January 2022. Moving to Page 18. In early June, Ameren published a sustainability financing framework, becoming one of the first utilities in the nation to do so. Under this framework, Ameren and its issuing subsidiaries may elect to finance or refinance new and existing projects that have an environmental or social benefit through green bonds, social bonds, sustainability bonds, green loans or other financial instruments. Given the amount of investment activity Ameren and the utility subsidiaries are pursuing that have environmental or social benefits, we expect to be a relatively frequent issuer under our sustainability financing framework. In June, both Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois issued green bonds consistent with this new financing framework. More information about this framework is available at amereninvestors.com. Turning to Page 19 for a financing and liquidity update, we continue to feel very good about our liquidity and financial position. As I just mentioned, in June, Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois issued green bonds with the net proceeds to be allocated to sustainable projects meeting certain eligibility requirements under the sustainability financing framework. Additional debt issuances are outlined on this page. Further, earlier this year, we physically settled the remaining shares under our forward equity sale agreement for proceeds of approximately $115 million. In order for us to maintain our credit ratings and a strong balance sheet while we fund our robust infrastructure plan, we expected to issue a total of approximately $150 million of common equity in 2021 under the at-the-market, or ATM, program established in May. This is consistent with prior guidance provided in February and May. And to date, approximately $122 million of equity has been issued through this program. Our $750 million ATM equity program is expected to support our equity needs through 2023. Finally, Ameren’s available liquidity as of July 30 was approximately $1.8 billion. Lastly, turning to Page 20, we are well positioned to continue to execute on our plan. We continue to expect to deliver strong earnings growth in 2021 as we successfully execute our strategy. And as we look to the longer term, we expect strong earnings per share growth driven by robust rate base growth and disciplined cost management. Further, we believe this growth will compare favorably with the growth of our regulated peers. Ameren shares continue to offer investors an attractive dividend. In total, we have a strong total shareholder return story that compares very favorably to our peers. That concludes our prepared remarks. We now invite your questions.

Operator, Operator

Our first question is from Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan. Please proceed with your question.

Jeremy Tonet, Analyst, JPMorgan

Good morning.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning. How are you doing, sir?

Jeremy Tonet, Analyst, JPMorgan

Good. Good. Thank you. Just want to see how you think about the Missouri securitization legislation as a tool for transitioning the fleet. Just wondering if you have any thoughts you have there? Are there any particular reasons that could make it more or less attractive for you to use versus other considerations we should be thinking about?

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Excuse me. Thanks, Jeremy. Yes, look, as we’ve said before, securitization is a great regulatory tool and one that we don’t see as necessary to execute our integrated resource plan, but certainly a great regulatory tool. So in the big picture, as we go down the path, if we see changes in policies, changes in economic conditions or really the overall economics for renewables, perhaps we will look at securitization as a tool to use. But right now, we are very comfortable with our integrated resource plan and Marty Lyons and his team really did a nice job working with stakeholders to get that across the finish line. Marty, why don’t you come on in and see if you have any additional comments on the securitization tool that we have available to us.

Marty Lyons, President, Ameren Missouri

Yes, Warner. Well, you described it very well. And Jeremy, thanks for the question. We outlined on Slide 25 our transition over time. It’s the integrated resource plan that we filed last fall. As Warner mentioned, that plan and the execution of that plan were not dependent upon utilization of securitization. Really, what you see there is our plan as it stands today to use our low-cost, reliable coal fleet as a foundation to bring in more renewables over time and provide reliable power to our customers. But as Warner said, to the extent situations change and require adjustments to this plan, it could be that securitization would be a very good tool to have in our toolbox to perhaps make this transition more swiftly and do it in a way that provides affordable rates to our customers. So, I think it’s a really good tool to have in the toolbox, but again, not needed today as we look at this integrated resource plan.

Jeremy Tonet, Analyst, JPMorgan

Great. That’s really helpful color there. Maybe just kind of shifting gears here. Have you seen any developments in MISO as work progresses towards year-end project updates there? Just wondering if you might be able to expand a bit more your thoughts there and what that could mean for Ameren?

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Thanks, Jeremy. And look, as we discussed on our last quarter call and as we talked about in our prepared remarks, we really see transmission investment as being critical for our country’s transition to a clean energy future. MISO being right in the middle of the country is going to play an integral role. And obviously, we have a big footprint in MISO. As we have looked at it, MISO has really done a fine job from our perspective. We are looking to see what some of those long-range transmission projects might be. They are not definitive yet, but they laid out a real nice plan for us to think about and work with key stakeholders. That’s exactly what we have been doing, working with key stakeholders to identify the projects we need to move forward with. MISO is still in the middle of that process with us and many others. As you know, they will take that long-range plan and include aspects of that thinking in MISO’s transmission expansion plan, a process that we will hopefully see moving forward by the end of this year. So beyond that, conversations and analysis continue. The only thing I will say is that we believe we are well positioned to execute many of those projects. If you look at that Future 1 scenario, some of those projects are likely to be included in the intent that comes out at the end of this year or perhaps into early next year because those are some no-regrets projects that need to be moved forward, not just in the Midwest but for our country. So stay tuned; more to come.

Jeremy Tonet, Analyst, JPMorgan

Got it. That’s very helpful. Thanks for that. I will leave it there.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks. Thanks, Jeremy. Have a good weekend.

Jeremy Tonet, Analyst, JPMorgan

You too.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Paul Patterson with Glenrock Associates. Please proceed with your question.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

How are you? Good morning Paul.

Paul Patterson, Analyst, Glenrock Associates

Good morning. How are you?

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, good here.

Paul Patterson, Analyst, Glenrock Associates

Good to hear. So, just to sort of follow-up on Jeremy’s question there on the MISO process and the transmission opportunities, which sound pretty exciting. One of the questions that comes up is, as you are aware, that in Missouri there is this clean energy line, I forgot the exact name, but you are familiar with it. It’s the one that’s been held up by challenges to it. It seems like forever. It’s not your line. It’s more like a merchant line. But in general, how should we think about once MISO has identified projects, assuming you guys get a good line of sight on opportunities for yourselves, how should we think about siting or permitting with respect to some of these projects in the context of that example versus some of the add-ons and stuff that don’t seem to have as much in the way of hurdles, do you follow what I am saying?

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Paul, a bit complicated. Let me tell you, Grain Belt is the name of the line that you are referring to. I will make a couple of comments and then Marty can talk about how the Grain Belt project has been incorporated, in some respects, into our integrated resource plan. Big picture, whether it’s the Grain Belt or any transmission, obviously permitting and siting is an important aspect of transmission. I think this is why you are seeing FERC and others, state commissions and legislators, take a careful look at this because we have recognized that that’s an important aspect of getting any of these major transmission projects done. Some significant transmission projects will have to be done for us to effect the clean energy transition. We work very hard as a company at this; we are thoughtful and reach out to stakeholders in the communities early and often to talk about the needs for the transmission line and how we can work with those stakeholders to get permitting and siting done in a timely fashion. Shawn Schukar and his team have done that for years and this is why you have seen the success we had in the last multi-value projects that MISO did almost a decade ago. Those projects were successful because a lot of work was done on the front end so we could execute on the back end. As we look forward to any future transmission project, that’s exactly what we will continue to do. Now Grain Belt, as you rightfully said, is not our project, but certainly it’s something that has received a lot of attention in Missouri and otherwise. Marty, I want you to comment a little bit about some of the things that we have been looking at in terms of Grain Belt as part of our integrated resource planning process.

Marty Lyons, President, Ameren Missouri

Yes, sure, Warner, and I am happy to comment. I mentioned our integrated resource plan we filed last fall. On Slide 25 where we depict our plan, that’s our preferred plan going forward. As we developed that plan, we looked at a number of scenarios in terms of the path forward. In these scenarios, certainly, we evaluated utilization of Grain Belt as well as many other scenarios. Where we stand right now in terms of our integrated resource plan, as you all know, we did put out a request for proposals last year on various resources that might be available to fulfill our needs. Our ambition is to acquire 1,200 megawatts of renewables—wind and solar—through 2025. We still expect to file later this year with the PSC for certificates of convenience and necessity for a portion of those planned projects. As we consider the next five years and beyond, we will continue to consider all options, including utilization of Grain Belt as we think about fulfilling those needs. In terms of large-scale transmission versus smaller-scale transmission, as we evaluate resources to fulfill our needs, we work closely with Shawn and his team and think about the transmission investments required to facilitate any of those projects, whether wind or solar. It’s an important part of our consideration as we think about resources that will be most affordable for our customers.

Paul Patterson, Analyst, Glenrock Associates

Okay. Great. And then just finally on Illinois, you mentioned in your remarks, and I am just wondering if you have any sense as to whether or not something happens in the next couple of months here. You guys are obviously a lot closer to it than I am. I am just sort of wondering if you had any odds on something in Illinois, what those odds might be for something getting done.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Thanks, Paul. I have learned long ago not to make predictions about legislation. In this particular case it’s a complex piece of legislation. The only thing I can say is what I have said before: Richard, Mark and his team have been working tirelessly for many months now with key stakeholders to try and forge a path forward. We are seeking a constructive solution that will enable us to make the investments we need to make in the energy grid and earn fair returns in the State of Illinois. In so doing, we will enhance reliability, create jobs and help the State of Illinois and our country move towards a clean energy future. Those things remain true today and we continue to be at the table with key stakeholders. I am not going to make any prediction in terms of timing, but rest assured we are working hard at it and are at the table with key stakeholders to try and get a constructive solution done.

Paul Patterson, Analyst, Glenrock Associates

Okay, great. Thanks a lot.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Julien Dumoulin-Smith from Bank of America. Please proceed with your question.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning Julien.

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Analyst, Bank of America

Hi. Good morning team. Thank you for this time and the opportunity. I appreciate it.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Absolutely.

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Analyst, Bank of America

So perhaps let’s kick it off with our favorite subject here. I want to hear your thoughts and perspectives around this June task force. You mentioned FERC joining forces here. That seems like a fairly potent combination to drive real change. I would be curious what the focus is and specifically what key issues you are asking them to address when it comes to utilities. Tangibly, how can they step in and help you all?

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

You bet. Thanks, Julien. We are encouraged that the federal regulators and state regulators are not only talking but trying to find a path forward. Transmission will be a critical component of getting these major projects done for our country. The jurisdictions of federal regulators, FERC, and the state regulators can sometimes overlap. Important issues include how we sort through permitting and siting and how to allocate costs fairly and appropriately for regional transmission projects. What we hope will happen through these conversations is a better understanding of the issues and a meeting of the minds so we can start moving forward more timely. When making the types of investments we are making, we want greater levels of regulatory certainty. This task force will provide a great forum for stakeholders, regulators and companies like ours to come to the table and say: here are the things that matter and here is how we can lean further forward in the transmission space. We strongly support the need to lean forward further and faster in transmission.

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Analyst, Bank of America

Got it. Fair enough. Let’s move it back to your own portfolio. How are you thinking about transmission interconnect delays, costs, etc., as you think about your own efforts? What are you observing regionally? Are you seeing issues with your own projects? More broadly, are you seeing elevated interconnection costs with other developers in and around regional sectors?

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Lots to unpack and let me make a few comments. First, as Marty mentioned earlier, we proceed through the integrated resource planning process and a key element of the projects we look at and select is transmission and interconnections—where developers are in the queue. That due diligence is how we were successful in moving our 700 megawatts of wind generation. We are seeing some backups in the queue. Organizations like MISO are looking beyond just today to the future with long-term resource planning, and we support that because it should help alleviate constraints over time. It’s premature to say there have been major increases in prices or insurmountable challenges; we are still going through the process, still talking to developers and working with MISO and others. We believe we have unique expertise to provide analysis and to execute important transmission projects—not just for our projects but for regional and national projects that will have positive implications for the clean energy transition. Encouragingly, MISO is working with other regional transmission organizations, such as SPP, to better coordinate transmission projects and needs to avoid surprises when moving forward with renewable energy projects. That collaboration is encouraging and we look forward to the results.

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Analyst, Bank of America

Alright. Excellent. Sorry to squeeze in one more. You identified certain renewable opportunities that are excluded from your five-year outlook. I know the five-year outlook will be rolled forward in the next few months. Can you talk about the next data points we should be watching in terms of more formally including some of those projects into your plan and the timeline for that?

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

You stated it correctly that these large regional transmission projects are not reflected in our five-year plan. We look out 10 years and the $40 billion plus figure has potential for those large projects. What’s the next thing to look at? The MISO transmission expansion planning process will be a visible sign. You may see some information toward the end of the third quarter into the fourth quarter. The process itself, which ultimately goes before the MISO Board of Directors, will likely be in the fourth quarter at the earliest and could go into the first quarter of next year. That will be an important data point. Michael, you had a point on renewables?

Michael Moehn, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, Julien, I think the other data point with respect to the renewable projects is the regulatory process. Look for those CCN filings in the back half of this year; that will really kick-start the approval process. Warner was really talking about the transmission timing.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Well said. We said we expect to be filing for CCNs here by the end of this year. That would be another important data point to look for incremental capital expenditure opportunities.

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Analyst, Bank of America

Got it. We will watch for that. Excellent. Thank you all very much.

Warner Baxter, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks Julien. Have a good weekend.

Operator, Operator

And we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I’ll now turn the call over to Andrew Kirk for closing remarks.

Andrew Kirk, Director of Investor Relations

Thank you for participating in this call. A replay of this call will be available for one year on our website. If you have questions, you may call the contacts listed on our earnings release. Financial analyst inquiries should be directed to me, Andrew Kirk. Media should call Tony Paraino. Again, thank you for your interest in Ameren, and have a great day.

Operator, Operator

This concludes today’s conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.