More than 50 people marched to Ameren Missouri's St. Louis headquarters Saturday to speak out against the company's newly published plans to build more fossil fuel resources in the coming 20 years.
The group wore nature-inspired costumes while holding signs calling for clean energy. The People's Joy Parade and the Sierra Club organized the demonstration with speakers from Tenants Transforming St. Louis, the Missouri Coalition for the Environment and Labadie Environmental Organization.
"We can create the clean energy future that we need. We can create it through people power, through love of our communities, and through good organizing," said Jenn DeRose, the Sierra Club's campaign organizing strategist for Beyond Coal in Missouri.
She stressed the need to develop energy sources like solar and wind power with battery storage to make it available around the clock.
Ameren Missouri recently released a new long-range plan that would significantly increase the amount of power plants in its portfolio to meet growing demand for electricity. The company said that growth is primarily driven by new large data centers moving to Missouri.
The new resource plan increases the number of new natural gas power plants to nine while also extending the lives of two existing coal plants. Both resources emit planet-warming gases that contribute to climate change.
Patricia Schuba lives near the Labadie Coal Plant, which will now operate all four of its units until 2042, rather than shuttering two units in 2036. The plant is about 35 miles west of St. Louis on the Missouri River.
Schuba and other demonstrators hit a Labadie power plant piñata that was filled with candy made to look like coal. She said she is not normally that kind of person but feels "righteous rage" about the plans to keep the plant that she said has made her and her neighbors sick open longer.
"We approached the solution in a peaceful way, but we need to express that we are very angry with these decisions," Schuba said. "The people sitting in the building behind me make those decisions every day for all of us, for our children, for future generations, and we need to hold them accountable."
Ameren Missouri executive Ajay Arora told St. Louis Public Radio in September that keeping Labadie operating longer would save customers money.
"Labadie remains one of the most affordable plants in the country and recognizing the economic conditions for all our customers and how important reliability and affordability is, that's really factored into delaying the retirement of a few of the Labadie units by a few years," Arora said.
On Saturday, the protesters said electricity is not affordable in the St. Louis region and condemned Ameren's practice of disconnecting customers who are behind on their bills.
"They say they care about affordability and that they're here to serve us. Is that true?" Sarah Watkins, an organizer with Tenants Transforming St. Louis, asked the crowd. "If Ameren cares so much about us, then why are tens of thousands of families losing their electricity every year?"
Bills could rise again soon as Ameren is asking Missouri regulators to approve a rate increase for customers. Both the proposed rate increase and the new integrated resource plan are subject to approval by Missouri's Public Service Commission.
Copyright 2026 St. Louis Public Radio