Ameren Missouri unveils new St. Francois Operating Center

Modern facility will support reliability, faster response times for customers

Ameren Missouri recently announced the opening of its new, state-of-the-art operating center in Park Hills. The St. Francois Operating Center is a substantial upgrade to area operations, supporting faster restoration times and greater reliability for customers across the county and throughout Missouri. The new facility replaces the existing operating center in Park Hills, which has been in service for more than 60 years. 

Ameren Missouri's Russ Burger cuts the ribbon and officially opens the company's new St. Francois Operating Center.

“The old operating center served us well, but it was in need of extensive and costly repairs,” said Russ Burger, director of the Southeast Missouri division at Ameren Missouri. “Building a new facility was more cost-effective than rehabilitating the old one. The new operating center is also located closer to Highway 67, which will help crews respond to outages faster.” 

The new facility brings all 40 Ameren Missouri co-workers in the area under one roof for streamlined operations, making it easier for teams to collaborate on repairs, upgrades and maintenance. It also includes more outdoor storage for essential equipment like poles and wires, as well as space for transmission materials that will serve the entire state. 

“This facility isn’t just supporting improved response times in St. Francois County but for all our Missouri customers,” said Burger. "In fact, transmission supplies from St. Francois County were critical to restoring power throughout the state following a tornado outbreak in March. This facility will play an important role in ensuring safe, reliable electric service for decades to come.” 

The new St. Francois Operating Center is one of many critical infrastructure investments Ameren Missouri is making through its Smart Energy Plan. These investments include stronger poles, upgraded power lines and smarter technology to reduce outages and allow the company to respond faster when they do occur. In 2025, Smart Energy Plan investments have already helped prevent more than 100,000 customer outages in Missouri. 

To learn more about Ameren Missouri’s reliability investments, please visit AmerenMissouri.com/SmartEnergyPlan.