These Midwest utilities will cut their coal use

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U.S. President Donald Trump has relaxed the Obama administration’s regulations on coal-fired power plants. Even so, many U.S. states say they will bring in their own new rules to maintain those tougher standards. Meanwhile, these Midwest utilities continue to invest in renewable energy and to reduce coal use. Alliant is further ahead than Ameren in its transformation; it’s a buy. AMEREN CORP. $56 (New York symbol AEE; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 242.6 million; Market cap: $13.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. ameren.com) provides power and natural gas to 3.3 million clients in Illinois and Missouri. For the three months ended September 30, 2017, Ameren’s earnings fell 18.4%, to $1.24 from $1.52 a year earlier. Revenue also slipped 7.3%, to $1.7 billion from $1.9 billion. Those declines are mainly due to cooler-than-normal summer weather, which lowered the use of air conditioning. Under a five year plan, ending in 2021, Ameren will spend $11.2 billion to…