Three months after winning a five-year extension to meet
environmental regulations for its Illinois coal plants, Ameren Corp.
will walk away from them.
The St. Louis-based holding company said weak power prices and looming costly environmental plant upgrades mean its unregulated power plants aren't profitable enough.
Ameren plans to write off the plants in the fourth quarter, taking an estimated pretax charge of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. The generating business itself will take a pretax charge of $50 million to $300 million in the fourth quarter, the company said, as it will continue to own those assets as it eventually plans to divest itself of that business. ...More HERE
