ST. LOUIS (Sept. 23, 2021) – Ameren Missouri welcomed community leaders and stakeholders to tour its newest operating center today. The North Metro Operating Center, located at 4440 Union Blvd., is built for up to 70 Ameren Missouri employees and serves more than 135,000 customers in North St. Louis and the surrounding communities. The $20.7 million new operating center replaces and expands the company’s Geraldine Operating Center, which stood adjacent to the new facility and served the community for more than 60 years.
“We had long outgrown the Geraldine Operating Center, but it was important to us that Ameren Missouri remain invested in North St. Louis,” said Marty Lyons, president of Ameren Missouri. “With the expanded footprint of the North Metro Operating Center, we can keep our crews close to the neighborhoods they are serving, so we can respond safely and quickly to issues as we work to keep energy reliable for our customers.”
Previously, Ameren Missouri had to store utility poles and other supplies off-site due to a lack of space at the Geraldine Operating Center. Now these supplies and materials will be stored on-site so line workers can address service interruptions more efficiently. A bigger truck area will allow for future growth as well as serving as a staging area for crews and trucks in a large-scale outage situation.
“We appreciate that Ameren Missouri is continuing to invest in this community by keeping an operating center on Geraldine Avenue,” said Mayor Tishaura Jones. “Reversing decades of disinvestment in North St. Louis is a top priority for my administration, and I hope Ameren Missouri is the first of many to invest in modern facilities and businesses that serve North City residents.”
Construction at the North Metro Operating Center began in 2019 and provided hundreds of jobs for area workers, while also utilizing the company’s network of diverse suppliers. Ameren Missouri worked with 28 diverse suppliers on the project, and spent 38% of project funds with these vendors.
The construction of the North Metro Operating Center is just one of many investments Ameren Missouri is making as part of its Smart Energy Plan, a multi-year effort to strengthen the grid and bring more resilient energy to Missouri. Customers are already benefiting from Smart Energy Plan investments in North St. Louis and North County. These projects include stronger poles, more resilient power lines, smart equipment and upgraded circuits to better withstand severe weather events and restore power more quickly.
AMEREN MISSOURI
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 132,000 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, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenMissouri or Facebook.com/AmerenMissouri.