Advocates and grassroots organizations publicly delivered a powerful message to Marty J. Lyons, the top executive of Ameren Missouri, demanding a halt to all utility disconnections through the end of the year and debt forgiveness for households along the half-mile path of the devastating May 16 tornado.
“The communities impacted by the tornado are among the same communities who suffer from some of the highest energy burdens in the St. Louis metro area,” said Mahala Pittman, her voice steady with urgency as she read aloud an open letter to Ameren Missouri’s leadership last week. “Many of the families impacted the worst by the tornado were already struggling financially — now they face an even bigger challenge as they try to rebuild.”
The letter paints a dire picture of overlapping crises — chronic poverty, a lack of energy affordability, and now, the destruction of homes and lives in the wake of the tornado. Pittman, citing Ameren’s disconnection data, said 11,760 households lost power in April alone. By July, the total number of disconnections in 2025 had climbed to 24,630 homes — many of them in neighborhoods with some of the highest energy burdens in the region.
“The highest concentration of energy-burdened households are located right in the path of the tornado,” Pittman said. “These families are now at an even greater risk for disconnection.”
Ameren’s communications team said the company has donated $1 million to assist recovery efforts. “We remain committed to assisting those impacted by this storm and working with the community to assist in these ongoing recovery efforts,” the company said in a statement.
Advocates argue Ameren, a billion-dollar corporation that reported over a $500,000 in profits last year, is in a unique position to help. “Ameren can afford to take a small loss in the interest of investing in our communities,” Pittman read from the letter. The message was clear: The company has both the resources and the responsibility to support the recovery of residents already teetering on the edge before disaster struck.
The open letter comes at a moment of heightened public concern over energy costs and access. In the backdrop is a recently approved Ameren rate increase, the rollback of federal utility assistance programs, like LIHEAP, under the Trump administration, and a new Missouri law that makes it easier for electric utilities to raise rates. Added to that is a summer of intensifying heat waves, making it more expensive — and more dangerous — for families to keep their homes cool.
Energy burden, a term used to describe the disproportionate percentage of income residents spend on energy bills, has long plagued north St. Louis and surrounding areas. For these communities, the tornado didn’t create a crisis — it deepened an ongoing one.
Through the letter, the coalition demands more than just a pause on shutoffs. They are urging Ameren to acknowledge its role in the long-term recovery process and to commit tangible resources to residents who need them most.
Kristan Blackmon, executive director of Tenants Transforming Greater St. Louis, said Ameren has the financial resources to do more for storm-affected residents.
“It’s not an ask — it’s a demand for them to do the right thing at this moment.”
In response to the tornado, Ameren has introduced assistance programs, including the “How to Reestablish Electric Service initiative.” Under the program, homeowners can have their electricity reconnected without paying an activation fee once they are cleared by local authorities.
Ameren also has implemented Temporary Process Changes to further support storm-impacted communities. In the hardest-hit areas, the utility is pausing service disconnections for nonpayment for 60 days, through the end of July. Additionally, customers affected by the storm will not be required to pay upfront deposits for new service through the end of August.
Rachel Hurtado, community collaborations associate with Arch City Defenders, said the message to Ameren is not just about the storm.
“The communities hit the hardest by the tornado are the same communities that have already been suffering under Ameren’s unjust energy system,” Hurtado said, adding that disconnecting customers’ electricity is nothing short of deadly.
“Ameren is yielding the power to directly create the conditions that lead to death,” she said. “Forget AC, people won’t even be able to plug in a box fan. We know Ameren can do something about this.”