Missouri-Made Equipment Supports Growth in Franklin County

By using local suppliers, the company is committed to sourcing materials built in Missouri, by Missourians, for Missourians. This commitment is exemplified by its partnership with WEG Transformers USA in Washington, Missouri.

WEG has supplied more than two dozen transformers for Smart Energy Plan projects in the past five years, helping the company expand its manufacturing footprint in Washington. In July, representatives from WEG and Ameren Missouri joined local officials to view the setting of a new transformer at a substation project just 3 miles south of the facility where it was built.

The new substation is fed directly from transmission lines, supporting reliable energy to the 2,700 homes and businesses in the area. The project will also help relieve the load on four other substations in Franklin County, creating balance and flexibility to support an additional 14,000 customers – including WEG.

“Very likely some of our employees who made this transformer will be on the receiving end of power from this substation,” said Phillip James, general manager at WEG. “The grid reliability not only improves quality of life for our employees but is really critical for us to be a successful manufacturer here.”

The project includes additional benefits for customers, including 9 miles of new and rebuilt lines with storm-hardening upgrades, such as stronger composite poles. Crews will also install a pole-mounted smart switch, which can automatically detect outages and reroute power, reducing outages from hours to minutes, even seconds.

“Upgrades such as this support greater reliability, especially during storms,” said Jay Garrett, senior manager of Ameren Missouri’s Meramec division. “It helps us keep the lights on for more customers while we work to address the cause of the outage.”

Construction of the new substation began in the fall of 2023 and is expected to be in service by the end of 2024.