RAYMOND C. LEWIS, JR.
BRUCE H. BECKETT
WILLIAM JAY POWELL
JOHN L. ROARK
COLLY J. DURLEY
JAMES B. LOWERY

ROBERT C. SMITH
      Of Counsel

Smith Lewis, LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
	    	P.O. BOX 918
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI 65205-0918
    • • •
CITY CENTRE
111 SOUTH NINTH STREET, SUITE 200
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI 65201-4815

(573) 443-3141 • Fax (573) 442-6686

MICHAEL R. TRIPP
PHEBE LA MAR
DAVID M. KURTZ
SARAH E. GIBONEY

Nurse Consultant
ANNETTE THORNHILL, RN, PhD

Paralegals
KELLY K. BRUCE, CLA
           VICKI R. SCHUMACHER

December 13, 2002

Mr. Dale Hardy Roberts
Secretary/Chief Regulatory Law Judge
Missouri Public Service Commission
200 Madison Street, Suite 100
Jefferson City, MO 65101

RE:	Notice of Ex Parte Contact
	Case No. EO-2002-351

Dear Mr. Roberts:

On behalf of AmerenUE, we write with regard to the Commission’s Notice of Ex Parte Contact dated December 5, 2002, concerning three letters which were sent to Commissioner Forbis and to the members of the Commission.  We were notified of the Commission’s December 5 report through the EFIS System on December 10, 2002.  Because the last sentence of the Notice afforded to the parties an opportunity to respond, we thought it appropriate to briefly provide some context and clarification to the concerns addressed in the three letters.  

As a preliminary matter, we note that under the Commission’s Rules the three ex parte letters are not a part of the record of the case and are not to be considered because the case is to be decided solely on the record.  4 CSR 240-4.020(7).  As a result, our response is designed to abide by such rules and to be limited to a discussion of matters that are included in the record established for Case No. EO-2002-351.

With regard to the letters by Mr. Brandt and Ms. Arbes, we believe their concerns have been expressed in their prior testimony and the testimony of the other Intervenors.  We have addressed the record evidence relevant to those concerns throughout our Initial Brief and Reply Brief.  In summary, as we have stated at the hearing and in our Briefs, we recognize that these are emotionally charged issues, but for the reasons cited in our Briefs do not believe that there is any factual support for these concerns.

With regard to Mr. LePage’s letter, we note that his concerns deal with a proposed AmerenUE substation that would be located within our existing service area in Cole County.  This proposed substation is part of a  project separate and distinct from the proposed Callaway-Franks Line.  Thus, the record does not contain any evidence concerning our attempt to acquire property for the 

Mr. Dale Hardy Roberts
December 13, 2002
Page 2

substation discussed in Mr. LePage’s letter.   As a result, there is nothing in the record to which we can point to respond to Mr. LePage regarding our contacts with him to acquire his 
property for such substation.  We will therefore limit our response to two points.  First, we acknowledge that we have had discussions with Mr. LePage, but disagree with his contentions regarding our contacts with him.  We remain open to exploring other alternatives and do not agree that our acquisition of his property is inevitable.

Second, the evidence we included in the record in Case No. EO-2002-351 includes a discussion of a future line to the Jefferson City area that would connect to the proposed Cole County substation.  As we have indicated, that connection and the proposed Cole County substation are not designed to correct the overloading problems that necessitate the new Callaway-Franks Line.  Instead, they address reliability and overloading problems elsewhere in Mid-Missouri.  In particular, we invite the Commission’s attention to pages 7-9 of our Initial Brief and pages 4-5 of our Reply Brief, in which we address these points.

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the concerns expressed in the ex parte letters.  We are providing copies of this letter to each Commissioner, to counsel for all parties of record, and to Judge Dippell.      

							Sincerely,

							/s/James B. Lowery
							
James B. Lowery
							Attorney for AmerenUE

cc:		(By email to:)
		Chairman Kelvin Simmons
		Commissioner Connie Murray
		Commissioner Sheila Lumpe
		Commissioner Steve Gaw
		Commissioner Bryan Forbis
Honorable Nancy Dippell

		(By U.S. mail:)
		Bruce H. Bates, Missouri Public Service Commission
		John B. Coffman, Acting Public Counsel
		Joseph H. Raybuck
		James B. Deutsch