Gary Rainwater, as president of Ameren Corporation, created new nonregulated generating, marketing and fuels services organizations in 2000 under the holding company, AmerenEnergy Resources.

AmerenEnergy Resources has four subsidiaries:

* AmerenEnergy Development - a generation development company;
* AmerenEnergy Generating Company, operator of more than 3,500 megawatts of generating capacity;
* AmerenEnergy Marketing, charged with selling the generating company's power in the deregulated     Illinois and Midwest markets; and
* AmerenEnergy Fuels & Services, supplier of coal, natural gas, oil, ash management and emission     services for its affiliated companies and other customers in Midwest energy markets.

Based in St. Louis, Ameren Corporation companies provide energy services to 1.8 million customers in a 44,500-square-mile area of Missouri and Illinois. AmerenUE is the largest electric utility in Missouri and the third largest distributor of natural gas. Both an electric and natural gas utility, AmerenCIPS serves a 20,000-square-mile territory - the largest geographic area of any Illinois-based utility company.

The transfer to the nonregulated AmerenEnergy Generating Company of the five existing plants of AmerenCIPS--representing 2,900 megawatts of capacity-formed the nucleus of Ameren's nonregulated power producer. In 2000, Ameren created AmerenEnergy Development which

* develops strategic plans for new generation sites,
* evaluates and initiates upgrades to existing facilities,
* analyzes and recommends future capacity expansion for Ameren and
* acquires equipment and sites, obtains permits and development agreements with local, state and federal     authorities.

In 2000, the development company expanded Ameren's generating capacity by approximately 630 megawatts with the start-up of almost a dozen combustion turbine generating units sited in Illinois. And the company plans to expand its nonregulated generation by adding another 2,400 of planned new capacity by 2005-nearly 850 megawatts of this total is expected to be available for the 2001 summer season.

The company's regulated utility with 325,000 electric customers, AmerenCIPS, will buy energy from the marketing subsidiary through 2004 to supply its regulated customers in Illinois.

"The combination of coal-fired plants for base-load periods, and gas-fired plants for peak periods, is a very cost-effective strategy," says AmerenEnergy Resources President Gary Rainwater. "The creation of AmerenEnergy Resources has offered Ameren the opportunity to build an energy company that combines generation, trading and marketing and fuels services expertise on the platform of a financially strong, asset-based corporation."

"The five existing AmerenCIPS plants, combined with the combustion turbines, are well suited to operate as a nonregulated power producer," Rainwater adds. "They have wide variations in size and design, giving them added flexibility. In addition, these units are located across a geographically far-flung area of Illinois, with access to many customers through interconnected transmission ties. Most importantly, each of these plants is staffed by experienced and dedicated personnel who are aware of the challenges of competition and are prepared to meet those challenges."

On the marketing side, Andrew Serri, vice president of AmerenEnergy Marketing, says the new company is a natural addition to AmerenEnergy's efforts to help Ameren Corporation succeed in an increasingly competitive environment.

"AmerenEnergy's current operations will necessarily complement the business that AmerenEnergy Resources conducts. In the short term, energy produced by AmerenEnergy Resources is sold through the corporation's trading operation-AmerenEnergy--in the wholesale markets. However, through AmerenEnergy Marketing, we are effectively balancing our strong wholesale activities with longer term sales to municipalities, cooperatives, and larger retail customers in the commercial and industrial sectors-and we are looking at resource and sales opportunities outside our traditional service territory."

Evidence of the strategy at work is the fall of 2000 contract AmerenEnergy Marketing forged with Illinois Energy consortium. Through this contract, Ameren began supplying energy this fall to 500 school buildings and 120 school districts in Illinois.

AmerenEnergy Resources third subsidiary, AmerenEnergy Fuels and Services Company, directed by Vice President Michael G. Mueller, provides approximately $1 billion in fuel procurement and gas supply services for its affiliated companies and other customers in the Midwest energy markets. It supplies coal, natural gas, oil, ash management and emission services to Ameren's 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity and manages the supply of natural gas to Ameren's 300,000 retail gas customers.

The Ameren fuels organization annually buys, trades and transports 30 million tons of coal from the Powder River and Illinois basins. The organization operates a fleet of more than 5,000 railcars and is constructing new coal trans-load facilities on the Mississippi River.

"The creation of AmerenEnergy Fuels and Services enhances Ameren's competitive position in the Midwestern energy markets," said Mueller.