AmerenUE finally talks
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AmerenUE finally talks

Date: February 14, 2007
By: Fanna Haile-Selassie
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: Legislators had their questions finally answered by AmerenUE, mainly the question "Why was AmerenUE silent during the December and January ice storms?"  Fanna Haile-Selassie was at the hearing when Representative Jake Zimmerman testified. RunTime:
OutCue: SOC
Actuality:  ZIMMER.WAV
Run Time: 00:04
Description: I heard this from my constituents over and over again, was that Ameren looked like a black box.


Silence from AmerenUE was the major complaint at the House Committee hearing on the response of the ice storm. 

St. Louis County Representative Jake Zimmerman said no one could get a straight answer out of AmerenUE, or an answer at all: 

Actuality:  ZIMMER2.WAV
Run Time: 00:12
Description: Where do I fall in the priority list, what's going on?  Not only could real human beings find that stuff out, but not even muckity-mucks could find that stuff out.
 
The AmerenUE lobbyist's reply was the company did not want to to give false information.
 
From the state Capitol, I'm Fanna Haile-Selassie



Intro: AmerenUE's lobbyist faced questions at the House Committee hearing today, finally giving legislators answers to questions they have been waiting to hear for months. Fanna Haile-Selassie was at the hearing for the break in silence. RunTime:
OutCue: SOC

AmerenUE's lobbyist Drue Duncan told the committee the reason for AmerenUE's silence is the company did not want to give false information.

Actuality:  DUNCAN.WAV
Run Time: 00:11
Description: We just don't want to give someone false hope because there are so many variables and we don't want to disappoint them.

Duncan repeatedly said AmerenUE expects these type of emergency storms to happen about once every one hundred years.

St. Louis County Representative Jake Zimmerman said AmerenUE's theory cannot hold for so long.

Actuality:  ZIMMER3.WAV
Run Time: 00:06
Description: The worst storm in the history of the company excuse works once, but it probably doesn't work twice in six months.
 
One expensive solution to help with future storm power outages was to place power lines underground.
 
From the state Capitol, I'm Fanna Haile-Selassie