PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

At the top of our list of the accomplishments that will prepare us for the future is our purchase of Illinois Power. This acquisition added one million customers to our system, increased our asset base to more than $17 billion, will raise our annual revenue to more than $6 billion and moved our company to the top tier of the electric and gas utility industry. In fact, the addition of Illinois Power virtually doubled our natural gas business overnight to more than 900,000 customers, making Ameren one of the largest gas delivery companies in the U.S. by customer count.

Furthermore, we completed our purchase of Illinois Power in only eight months. This was one month faster than our 2003 acquisition of CILCORP Inc., parent company of Central Illinois Light Company.

Now operating as AmerenIP, we expect this company to add about 9 to 13 cents per share to earnings over the first two years of our ownership. But more importantly, it will provide future earnings growth potential. We are now even better positioned to continue delivering on our promise to safeguard your capital and provide you a reliable and sustainable source of income.

I don’t want to suggest, however, that our business focus is shifting primarily to growth. If anything, in this past year, we sharpened our focus on the basics of operating an efficient, low-cost electric and gas utility – so much so that we’ve made “focus” the theme of this year’s annual report.