May 2013, Vol. 240, No. 5

In The News

Illinois Drives Natural Gas Infrastructure Upgrades

To leverage abundant natural gas supplies and low wholesale costs, Illinois employer and labor organizations and Ameren Illinois outlined a legislative proposal to accelerate the modernization of Illinois’ aging natural gas delivery infrastructure while maintaining Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) regulatory oversight.

Under the Natural Gas Modernization, Public Safety & Jobs Act, Ameren Illinois will invest $330 million and create 250 jobs to accelerate its ongoing work to strengthen and update its gas transmission, distribution and storage facilities in central and southern Illinois. The 10-year blueprint will reduce non-hazardous leaks and trim maintenance costs while delivering long-term savings for customers.

“This is an opportunity for Illinois to develop an important long-term energy infrastructure strategy and plan that creates savings and benefits for our customers while helping grow our economy,” said Richard Mark, president and CEO of Ameren Illinois.  “The natural gas plan will help lay the foundation for economic development for years to come. As other states aggressively modernize and upgrade their gas infrastructures, Illinois cannot afford to fall behind.”

Ameren Illinois maintains 1,250 miles of natural gas transmission lines and nearly 17,000 miles of delivery lines that feed service to more than 806,000 Illinois customers within a 43,700-square-mile territory.