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Commitments And Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES We are involved in legal, tax, and regulatory proceedings before various courts, regulatory commissions, authorities, and governmental agencies with respect to matters that arise in the ordinary course of business, some of which involve substantial amounts of money. We believe that the final disposition of these proceedings, except as otherwise disclosed in the notes to our financial statements in this report and in the Form 10-K, will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or liquidity. Reference is made to Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Note 2 – Rate and Regulatory Matters, Note 9 – Callaway Energy Center, Note 13 – Related-party Transactions, and Note 14 – Commitments and Contingencies under Part II, Item 8, of the Form 10-K. See also Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Note 2 – Rate and Regulatory Matters, Note 8 – Related-party Transactions, and Note 10 – Callaway Energy Center of this report. Environmental Matters Our electric generation, transmission, and distribution and natural gas distribution and storage operations must comply with a variety of statutes and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and human health and safety including permitting programs implemented by federal, state, and local authorities. Such environmental laws address air emissions; discharges to water bodies; the storage, handling and disposal of hazardous substances and waste materials; siting and land use requirements; and potential ecological impacts. Complex and lengthy processes are required to obtain and renew approvals, permits, and licenses for new, existing, or modified facilities. Additionally, the use and handling of various chemicals or hazardous materials require release prevention plans and emergency response procedures. We employ dedicated personnel knowledgeable in environmental matters to oversee our business activities’ compliance with regulatory requirements of environmental laws. Environmental regulations have a significant impact on the electric utility industry and compliance with these regulations could be costly for Ameren Missouri, which operates coal-fired power plants. Regulations under the Clean Air Act that apply to the electric utility industry include the NSPS, the CSAPR, the MATS, and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which are subject to periodic review for certain pollutants. Collectively, these regulations cover a variety of pollutants, such as SO 2, particulate matter, NO x, mercury, toxic metals and acid gases, and CO 2 emissions. Regulations implementing the Clean Water Act govern both intake and discharges of water, as well as evaluation of the ecological and biological impact of our operations and could require modifications to water intake structures or more stringent limitations on wastewater discharges. Depending upon the scope of modifications ultimately required by state regulators, capital expenditures associated with these modifications could be significant. The management and disposal of coal ash is regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the CCR Rule, which require the closure of surface impoundments at Ameren Missouri’s coal-fired energy centers. The individual or combined effects of compliance with existing and new environmental regulations could result in significant capital expenditures, increased operating costs, or the closure or alteration of operations at some of Ameren Missouri’s energy centers. Ameren and Ameren Missouri expect that such compliance costs would be recoverable through rates, subject to MoPSC prudence review, but the timing of costs and their recovery could be subject to regulatory lag. Additionally, Ameren Missouri’s wind generation facilities may be subject to operating restrictions to limit the impact on protected species. From April through October, in both 2021 and 2022, Ameren Missouri's High Prairie Renewable Energy Center curtailed nighttime operations to limit impacts on protected species. Seasonal nighttime curtailment began again in April 2023 as the critical biological season resumed, but the extent and duration of the curtailment is unknown at this time as assessment of mitigation technologies is ongoing. Ameren Missouri does not anticipate these operating curtailments to have a material impact on its results of operations, financial position, or liquidity. Ameren and Ameren Missouri estimate that they will need to make capital expenditures of $90 million to $120 million from 2023 through 2027 in order to comply with existing environmental regulations. Additional environmental controls beyond 2027 could be required. This estimate of capital expenditures includes surface impoundment closure and corrective action measures required by the CCR Rule and potential modifications to cooling water intake structures at existing power plants under Clean Water Act rules, all of which are discussed below. In addition to planned retirements of coal-fired energy centers as set forth in the 2022 Change to the 2020 IRP filed with the MoPSC in June 2022 and as noted in the NSR and Clean Air Act litigation and Illinois emissions standards discussed below, Ameren Missouri’s current plan for compliance with existing air emission regulations includes burning low-sulfur coal and installing new or optimizing existing air pollution control equipment. The actual amount of capital expenditures required to comply with existing environmental regulations may vary substantially from the above estimates because of uncertainty as to future permitting requirements by state regulators and the EPA, revisions to regulatory obligations, and varying cost of potential compliance strategies, among other things. The following sections describe the more significant environmental laws and rules and environmental enforcement and remediation matters that affect or could affect our operations. The EPA periodically amends and revises its regulations and proposes amendments to regulations and guidelines, which could ultimately result in the revision of all or part of such rules. Clean Air Act Federal and state laws, including the CSAPR, regulate emissions of SO 2 and NO x through the reduction of emissions at their source and the use and retirement of emission allowances. The CSAPR is implemented through a series of phases, and the second phase became effective in 2017. In April 2022, the EPA proposed plans for additional NO x emission reductions from power plants in Missouri, Illinois, and other states through revisions to the CSAPR. In January 2023, the EPA issued its final disapproval of Missouri’s proposed state implementation plan for addressing the transport of ozone under the Good Neighbor Plan of the Clean Air Act. The disapproval of the state plan allows the EPA to implement revisions to the CSAPR through a federal implementation plan. In March 2023, the EPA announced federal implementation plan requirements for Missouri, Illinois, and other states under the Good Neighbor Plan of the Clean Air Act. In April 2023, the Missouri Attorney General and Ameren Missouri separately filed lawsuits in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the EPA’s disapproval of the Missouri state plan. Unless stayed by a judicial action, in mid-2023, the EPA is expected to finalize a federal implementation plan reducing the amount of NO x allowances available for state budgets and imposing NO x emission limits on electric generating units. Ameren Missouri has complied with the current CSAPR requirements by minimizing emissions through the use of low-sulfur coal, operation of two scrubbers at its Sioux Energy Center, and optimization of other existing NO x air pollution control equipment. Restrictions on state budget NO x allowances could result in additional controls on Ameren Missouri’s generating units and/or the reduction of operations. Ameren Missouri is evaluating potential options to comply with the federal implementation plan. Any additional costs for compliance are expected to be recovered from customers, subject to MoPSC prudence review, through the FAC or higher base rates. CO 2 Emissions Standards In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in West Virginia v. EPA, clarifying that there are limits on how the EPA may regulate greenhouse gases absent further direction from the United States Congress. The court concluded that emission caps designed to shift generation from fossil-fuel-fired power plants to renewable energy facilities would require specific congressional authorization and that such authorization had not been given under the Clean Air Act. The decision by the United States Supreme Court may affect the EPA’s development of any new regulations to address CO 2 emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants; however, at this time, Ameren Missouri cannot predict the impact of any such regulations or the decision by the United States Supreme Court on the results of operations, financial position, and liquidity of Ameren or Ameren Missouri. NSR and Clean Air Act Litigation In January 2011, the United States Department of Justice, on behalf of the EPA, filed a complaint against Ameren Missouri in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging that projects performed in 2007 and 2010 at the coal-fired Rush Island Energy Center violated provisions of the Clean Air Act and Missouri law. In January 2017, the district court issued a liability ruling against Ameren Missouri and, in September 2019, entered a remedy order that required Ameren Missouri to install a flue gas desulfurization system at the Rush Island Energy Center and a dry sorbent injection system at the Labadie Energy Center. Following an appeal from Ameren Missouri in August 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the liability ruling and the district court’s remedy order as it related to the installation of a flue gas desulfurization system at the Rush Island Energy Center, but reversed the order as it related to the installation of a dry sorbent injection system at the Labadie Energy Center. In November 2021, the court of appeals issued an order denying requests for re-consideration sought by both Ameren Missouri and the United States Department of Justice. Based on its assessment of available legal, operational, and regulatory alternatives, Ameren Missouri filed a motion in December 2021, with the district court to modify the remedy order to allow the retirement of the Rush Island Energy Center in advance of its previously expected useful life in lieu of installing a flue gas desulfurization system. The March 31, 2024 compliance date contained in the district court’s September 2019 remedy order remains in effect unless extended by the district court. In 2022, in response to an Ameren Missouri request for a final, binding reliability assessment, the MISO designated the Rush Island Energy Center as a system support resource and concluded that certain mitigation measures, including transmission upgrades, should occur before the energy center is retired. The transmission upgrade projects have been approved by the MISO, and design and procurement activities necessary to complete the upgrades are underway. Ameren Missouri expects to complete the upgrades by mid-2025. In 2022, the FERC approved a system support resource agreement, which became effective as of September 1, 2022. The agreement details the manner of continued operation for a system support resource that results in operating during peak demand times and emergencies. The system support resource designation and the related agreement are subject to annual renewal and revision. In September 2022, the Rush Island Energy Center began operating consistent with the system support resource agreement. In addition, in October 2022, the FERC established hearing and settlement procedures in response to an August 2022 request from Ameren Missouri for recovery of non-energy costs under the related MISO tariff. The FERC is under no deadline to issue an order related to this proceeding. Revenues and costs under the MISO tariff are included in the FAC. The district court has the authority to determine the retirement date and operating parameters for the Rush Island Energy Center and is not bound by the MISO determination of the Rush Island Energy Center as a system support resource or the FERC’s approval. The district court is under no deadline to issue a ruling modifying the remedy order. Related to this matter, in February 2022, the MoPSC issued an order directing the MoPSC staff to review the planned accelerated retirement of the Rush Island Energy Center. See Note 2 – Rate and Regulatory Matters for additional information. In connection with the planned accelerated retirement of the Rush Island Energy Center, Ameren Missouri expects to seek approval from the MoPSC to finance the costs associated with the retirement, including the remaining unrecovered net plant balance associated with the facility, through the issuance of securitized utility tariff bonds pursuant to Missouri’s securitization statute. As of March 31, 2023, the Rush Island Energy Center had a net plant balance of approximately $0.6 billion included in plant to be abandoned, net, within “Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net” and a rate base of approximately $0.4 billion. See Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies under Part II, Item 8, of the Form 10-K for additional information regarding plant to be abandoned, net. Ameren Missouri is unable to predict the ultimate resolution of this matter; however, such resolution could have a material adverse effect on the results of operations, financial position, and liquidity of Ameren and Ameren Missouri. Clean Water Act The EPA’s regulations implementing Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act require power plant operators to evaluate cooling water intake structures and identify measures for reducing the number of aquatic organisms impinged on a power plant’s cooling water intake screens or entrained through the plant’s cooling water system. All of Ameren Missouri’s coal-fired and nuclear energy centers are subject to the cooling water intake structures rule. Requirements of the rule are implemented by state regulators through the permit renewal process of each power plant’s water discharge permit. Permits for Ameren Missouri’s coal-fired and nuclear energy centers have been issued or are in the process of renewal. In 2015, the EPA issued a rule to revise the effluent limitation guidelines applicable to steam electric generating units. These guidelines established national standards for water discharges, prohibit effluent discharges of certain waste streams, and impose more stringent limitations on certain water discharges from power plants by 2025. To comply with these guidelines, Ameren Missouri installed dry ash handling systems and wastewater treatment facilities at its coal-fired energy centers. CCR Management The EPA’s CCR Rule establishes requirements for the management and disposal of CCR from coal-fired power plants and has resulted in the closure of surface impoundments at Ameren Missouri’s energy centers. Ameren Missouri plans to substantially complete the closures of the remaining surface impoundments at its Sioux Energy Center and retired Meramec Energy Center as required by the CCR Rule by the end of 2024. Ameren Missouri’s CCR management compliance plan includes installation of groundwater monitoring equipment and groundwater treatment facilities. Ameren and Ameren Missouri have AROs of $48 million recorded on their respective balance sheets as of March 31, 2023, associated with CCR storage facilities. Remediation The Ameren Companies are involved in a number of remediation actions to clean up sites impacted by the use or disposal of materials containing hazardous substances. Federal and state laws can require responsible parties to fund remediation regardless of their degree of fault, the legality of original disposal, or the ownership of a disposal site. As of March 31, 2023, Ameren Illinois has remediated the majority of the 44 former MGP sites in Illinois and could substantially conclude remediation efforts at the remaining sites in 2023. The ICC allows Ameren Illinois to recover such remediation and related litigation costs from its electric and natural gas utility customers through environmental cost riders that are subject to annual prudence reviews by the ICC. As of March 31, 2023, Ameren Illinois estimated the remaining obligation related to these former MGP sites at $58 million to $108 million. Ameren and Ameren Illinois recorded a liability of $58 million to represent the estimated minimum obligation for these sites, as no other amount within the range was a better estimate. About half of the remaining liability recorded relates to remediation activities that are expected to be completed after 2023. The scope of the remediation activities at these former MGP sites may increase as remediation efforts continue. Considerable uncertainty remains in these estimates because many site-specific factors can influence the actual costs, including unanticipated underground structures, the degree to which groundwater is encountered, regulatory changes, local ordinances, and site accessibility. The actual costs and timing of completion may vary substantially from these estimates. Our operations or those of our predecessor companies involve the use of, disposal of, and, in appropriate circumstances, the cleanup of substances regulated under environmental laws. We are unable to determine whether such historical practices will result in future environmental commitments, including additional or more stringent cleanup standards, or will affect our results of operations, financial position, or liquidity.

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