---
title: "Missouri hearings Nov. 18 on Ameren's 2,100 MW West Alton plant, which has no price tag"
description: "The hearings open the first public fight over who pays to build the largest plant in Ameren's $38.1 billion plan before it earns anything in 2031, a bill shareholders partially fund with roughly $5 billion of new shares."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-11-10T15:49:06.934Z
modified: 2026-11-10T15:49:06.934Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/missouri-hearings-nov-18-on-ameren-s-2-100-mw-west-alton-plant-which-has-no-price-tag
language: en
keywords: "Utilities, Power Plants, Regulation, Data Centers, Natural Gas"
---

# Missouri hearings Nov. 18 on Ameren's 2,100 MW West Alton plant, which has no price tag

> The hearings open the first public fight over who pays to build the largest plant in Ameren's $38.1 billion plan before it earns anything in 2031, a bill shareholders partially fund with roughly $5 billion of new shares.

## A notice in the mail, a plant with no price

A St. Louis customer who received [Ameren](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/ameren)'s notice as a PDF [posted it to Reddit this month with one question](https://old.reddit.com/r/StLouis/comments/1xnpw51/amerens_mo_west_alton_energy_center/): is this a rate increase? [7]. Missouri's Public Service Commission [takes that question in public on November 18](https://www.kbsi23.com/news/missouri-sets-public-hearings-on-amerens-proposed-west-alton-power-plant/), at St [1]. Charles Community College in Cottleville, and by video on November 19, under case EA-2026-0226 [1]. What the notice does not contain is a number: Ameren has published no construction cost for the West Alton Energy Center, citing its procurement process [1].

## The biggest plant in a $38.1 billion plan

West Alton is a 2,100-megawatt combined-cycle gas plant with three units built to run around the clock, [filed in July to open in 2031](https://www.streetinsider.com/PRNewswire/Ameren+Missouri+plans+new+energy+center+to+deliver+long-term+value+and+around-the-clock+power/26815706.html) beside the six-decade-old Sioux plant, which Ameren plans to retire by the end of 2035 [1][3]. It is the largest single piece of the roughly 7.7 gigawatts Ameren Missouri plans to add from 2027 through 2031, an increase of about 80% in the utility's generating capacity, inside a [$38.1 billion five-year capital plan](https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/aee/transcripts/721388-q3-2026/) [2].

*Chart: **West Alton is the biggest announced plant, and it lands last** Bar chart of announced Ameren Missouri generation projects: 2.3 GW under construction for 2027 to 2028 service, 1 GW of solar and storage for 2028 to 2029, and the 2.1 GW West Alton gas plant for 2031.*

*Gigawatts of announced Ameren Missouri generation by expected first year of service; approximate figures disclosed on the Q3 2026 earnings call, November 6, 2026. Ameren has published no construction cost for West Alton. [2]*

## Who carries four years of construction

The filing asks the commission to decide which costs can be recovered while the plant is still being built, [a Construction Work in Progress approach](https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/ameren-proposes-west-alton-energy-plant-customers-could-pay-some-costs-upfront/) that became legal under Missouri law in 2025 [1][3][4]. Ameren says collecting earlier would cut financing costs and cites a 2024 state analysis it says lowers project costs by millions [1][3][4].

Senate Bill 4 is the law in the way: large users must cover all upfront grid connection costs and a share of generation costs [1]. Google and [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon), named on last week's earnings call, sit inside the [2.8 gigawatts of signed service agreements with $25 billion of announced Missouri investment](https://theinference.org/article/ameren-names-google-and-amazon-on-2-8-gigawatts-of-signed-deals-and-needs-5-billion-of-new-shares), and 5.6 gigawatts more wait behind them in the pipeline [2][6]. Grant recovery without a fixed allocation and existing customers carry a data-center plant; refuse it and Ameren funds the build with debt and about $5 billion of new shares, of which $1.7 billion is already sold forward [2].

*Chart: **Capital spending jumped 45% in Q3 2026 as the buildout ramps** Column chart of Ameren's quarterly capital expenditure from Q4 2023 through Q3 2026, rising from about $0.9 billion to $1.6 billion in Q1 2026 and $1.4 billion in Q3 2026.*

*Quarterly capital expenditure in US dollars from Ameren's SEC filings, retrieved November 10, 2026. The five-year plan behind the West Alton plant totals $38.1 billion, up 20%, with about $5 billion of new equity to fund it, of which $1.7 billion is already sold forward. [8]*

## The calendar decides it

The evidentiary hearing is set for April 2027 and Ameren has asked for a decision by early spring 2027 [1]. The commission also expects to rule by May 2027 on [a separate $343 million rate request](https://drillr.ai/article/aee-ameren-q3-2026-earnings-capital-plan-equity), with new rates due June 2027 [5]. Watch the November 18 testimony and, above all, whether a price for West Alton appears before the vote [5]. The biggest plant in Ameren's plan has a hearing calendar and no price tag.

## Takeaway

Missouri's PSC opens hearings November 18 on who pays for Ameren's 2,100 MW West Alton plant, which has no published cost, before a ruling on construction-period recovery by spring 2027.

## Sources

1. [KBSI 23, Missouri sets public hearings on Ameren's proposed West Alton power plant, 10 November 2026](https://www.kbsi23.com/news/missouri-sets-public-hearings-on-amerens-proposed-west-alton-power-plant/)
2. [StockAnalysis, Ameren (AEE) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript, 6 November 2026](https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/aee/transcripts/721388-q3-2026/)
3. [PRNewswire via StreetInsider, Ameren Missouri plans new energy center to deliver long-term value and around-the-clock power, 27 July 2026](https://www.streetinsider.com/PRNewswire/Ameren+Missouri+plans+new+energy+center+to+deliver+long-term+value+and+around-the-clock+power/26815706.html)
4. [Fox2Now, Ameren proposes West Alton energy plant, customers could pay some costs upfront, 28 July 2026](https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/ameren-proposes-west-alton-energy-plant-customers-could-pay-some-costs-upfront/)
5. [drillr, Ameren (AEE) Q3 2026 earnings: capital plan rises 20%, equity needs grow, 10 November 2026](https://drillr.ai/article/aee-ameren-q3-2026-earnings-capital-plan-equity)
6. [The Inference, Ameren names Google and Amazon on 2.8 gigawatts of signed deals and needs $5 billion of new shares, 8 November 2026](https://theinference.org/article/ameren-names-google-and-amazon-on-2-8-gigawatts-of-signed-deals-and-needs-5-billion-of-new-shares)
7. [Reddit r/StLouis discussion, Ameren's MO West Alton Energy Center, 6 November 2026](https://old.reddit.com/r/StLouis/comments/1xnpw51/amerens_mo_west_alton_energy_center/)
8. [Ameren, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 10 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001002910)


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Missouri hearings Nov. 18 on Ameren's 2,100 MW West Alton plant, which has no price tag — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/missouri-hearings-nov-18-on-ameren-s-2-100-mw-west-alton-plant-which-has-no-price-tag