The demand for electricity is rising and as Missouri utilities plan for more power, consumer advocates worry about the cost — especially as nuclear power may be a larger part of the state’s energy future.
Ameren Missouri — the electricity provider for most of mid-Missouri — operates the state’s only nuclear power plant in Callaway County. According to the company’s long-term planning documents, updated in February, the utility is looking for ways to build more nuclear power plants in Missouri.
Fadi Diya, Ameren Missouri’s chief nuclear officer, said the company will evaluate available nuclear technologies for the next few years, including small modular reactors, large plants or a combination of both.
Diya said it’s not important for Ameren to be “first” in new nuclear technology. Rather, the company would like to see proof of concept from other operators to evaluate what’s best for Missouri.
“We want to make sure that whatever technology we select, somebody builds it and operates it before we do, and that gives us more certainty on cost and schedule,” he said.
Diya works out of the Callaway Energy Center, the plant that produces 1,200 megawatts of energy, which is enough energy to supply electricity in about a million homes.
Ameren Missouri would like to more than double that production by adding 1,500 megawatts of nuclear power by 2045.
Nuclear power plants operate nonstop, producing energy even when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. For that reason, they pair well with “intermittent” renewable energy resources.
However, nuclear power plants are notoriously expensive and time consuming to build, often taking 10 to 15 years or more. Consumer advocates say utility plans to expand nuclear power are related to a bill moving through the Missouri General Assembly that would allow companies to earn revenue from power plants while they are under construction and before they produce or deliver energy to customers.
“Nuclear is a good option for base load. The problem is that the construction is often difficult, and delays and cost overruns are common,” said John Coffman, attorney for the Consumers Council of Missouri, a consumer advocacy group.
“In fact, the average cost overrun for a nuclear power plant in the United States, over the history of nuclear power, has been about 100%. So on average, a planned nuclear power plant winds up costing twice as much as was originally estimated,” he said.
Senate Bill 4 is sponsored by state Sen. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, and could afford utilities in Missouri a variety of new financial accounting practices.
The legislation includes a policy called “construction work in progress,” or CWIP, that enables energy companies to earn revenue on power plants as they build them and before they generate any electricity.
“Under the current law they wouldn't be allowed to start charging customers until the project was completed and they've proven that the project was just and reasonable,” Coffman said.
Consumers Council staff are lobbying against the legislation, warning of its potential impact on energy burdened Missourians — those who spend a disproportionate amount of their household income on utility bills.
Jay Hardenbrook, advocacy director for AARP in Missouri, said CWIP is a “major issue” for AARP’s members. He said the policy is usually used to build large nuclear power plants because they take a long time to construct.
“Our folks really do not like paying for something they're not getting,” Hardenbrook said.
While the Callaway County nuclear power plant was being built in the 1970s, Missouri voters outlawed construction work in progress financing via ballot initiative. The Missouri Independent reported that at the time, voters were unhappy the costs of building a Callaway Energy Center were passed on to them before the plant had delivered any power.
“Back in the 1970s when they were building the Callaway nuclear plant, Missouri voters went to the ballot and said, ‘We don't want you to be able to do that kind of funding anymore,’” Hardenbrook said. “They felt like cost overruns were happening and that they were getting charged for something that didn't even exist yet.”
Hardenbrook said 50 years later, the same concerns remain. AARP members are not interested in paying for a power plant from which they may never benefit.
“We know that people will move. We know that people might move into a long-term care facility. They might pass away,” he said. “So they are actually paying for a benefit that they aren't going to get.”
The Consumers Council of Missouri estimates that if a nuclear power plant was built in Missouri using CWIP, it would cost about $5,000 per household for average energy users throughout the first decade the plant is being built.
The bill’s chances look good if passed by both chambers of the legislature. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has long been supportive of, and supported by, utilities.
The need for more power is partially driven by AI data centers that may be coming to the state. A data center is a physical location that houses computer servers. Large tech companies are making plans to build them across the country. AI data centers use significantly more energy than current data facilities.
Ameren Missouri has construction agreements with data center developers totaling approximately 1.8 gigawatts of energy — approximately 1.5 times the capacity of the Callaway County facility, according to an email from spokesperson Brad Brown.
Steve Wills, senior director of regulatory affairs for Ameren Missouri, said the company assesses long-term generation capacity along with projected energy consumption.
“We are anticipating up to 1.5 to 2 gigawatts of new demand,” he said. “Our peak demand is somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 gigawatts, so it's a pretty significant percentage increase.”
Wills said new nuclear power has been discussed and evaluated for years by Ameren Missouri.
“Having supportive policies that are going to allow timely and full recovery of those costs is certainly important so that we're able to provide service while we're recovering the actual costs that we're incurring with large generation investments like nuclear,” Wills said.
“Construction work in progress is a tool that can help more timely recover those costs, and it also can actually save total dollars in the long run,” he said.
Plans for more power
The Callaway Energy Center has been producing electricity for 40 years — the length of its initial license through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Last year, Ameren received a renewed operating license to continue production at the plant for another 20 years, until 2044.
The utility plans to continue extending the power plant’s operation. Subsequent license renewal processes will begin later this decade.
“To get the next 20 years to go to 2064 … we have to do evaluations and assessments of our plant components — like steel, concrete, electrical cables,” Diya said. “We want to do those inspections and assessments to make sure that those components are good for an additional 20 years of life.”
As far as where a new nuclear power plant would be located, the company is assessing those factors as well.
“There's environmental evaluation, seismic evaluations, geological evaluations — so we'll be doing all of that,” Diya said.
Access to the electric grid and existing transmission infrastructure is a factor in finding a place to build a new power plant. Diya called the Callaway Energy Center the “largest single source of carbon-free energy in Missouri” and believes most Missourians are supportive of nuclear power.
“We operate the Callaway Energy Center very safely, reliably and affordably,” he said. “I've been working in the nuclear industry for 40 years and safety is our top priority and it's at the forefront of everything that we do.”
In addition to nuclear power, Ameren Missouri plans to invest in new gas, solar and wind generation, as well as battery storage. The company filed a $16.2 billion, five-year plan with the Missouri Public Service Commission.
“New generation resources are going to be needed to help attract and secure new businesses that are looking at coming to our state, as well as to help our existing customers grow,” said Rob Dixon, Ameren’s director of economic and community development.
Utilities are what’s called “regulated” or “natural” monopolies — in exchange for being the sole provider of utility service in a specified area, the companies are subject to state oversight. In order to change prices, the companies must make its case before the Missouri Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities.
Ameren is in the middle of a rate case to raise prices by 15.77%, earning the company an estimated $446 million more per year. Further investments in new power plants would likely be asked to be recouped by customers in future rate cases.
“We're committed to doing everything that we can to keep rates low. We do that by making — we think — prudent and wise investments,” Dixon said.
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at increasing energy generation in the United States. The statements from the White House are critical of renewable energy and encourage fossil fuel production.
Dixon said nuclear energy is going to continue to be a “vital part of our overall safe, clean and reliable generation mix,” and the company is committed to continued investment in renewable sources including wind and solar.
“Many of our customers … really have a strong desire for clean, reliable energy, and so we're committed to doing that,” he said.
