Construction is under way on an Ameren Missouri connection to a natural gas transmission pipeline that will increase the reliability of gas service for customers in Columbia and Ashland, Mo.
Ameren Missouri has negotiated a 10-year pipeline agreement with Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc., an interstate natural gas transmission company headquartered in Kentucky that supplies several Midwestern states. The new Southern Star connection will add to the natural gas Ameren Missouri currently brings into the Columbia area through Texas-based Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line LP's lines. The additional pipeline supply will support the natural gas pressure in Ameren Missouri's southern Columbia and Ashland distribution system, helping to enhance service reliability in those communities.
"Adding a Southern Star delivery point improves the reliability of our service in a couple of ways," said Mike Holman, Ameren Missouri’s director of gas operations. "It will help us maintain the pressure of our natural gas distribution system, while providing us with access to an additional source of natural gas."
Operating in conjunction with Southern Star's construction, Ameren Missouri is currently working on a roughly 150-foot-long pipeline between its system and the transmission company's line. The project, expected to cost Ameren Missouri approximately $260,000, is slated to be complete in November. Southern Star will be able to provide Ameren Missouri with as much as 15 percent of the natural gas it distributes in the Columbia and Ashland area on the coldest day of the year.
The new Southern Star natural gas connection complements Ameren Missouri's construction last year of an $11 million natural gas pipeline from Columbia to Ashland. The new 11-mile pipeline improves natural gas reliability in the Ashland area as well as capacity for future growth and development.
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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2 million electric and 130,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information please visit AmerenMissouri.com or follow Ameren Missouri on Facebook or Twitter.