David Mason + Associates Featured in Ameren Publication Infrastructure Article
Date Posted: November 22, 2019
Posted In: Organizations, People,
From Ameren’s POWER FORWARD:Taylor and Spencer Mason have seen first-hand the aging energy infrastructure across Missouri. Now, the two brothers – who work with their father, David, at David Mason + Associates (DMA) – are getting an opportunity to be a part of repairing, upgrading, and innovating that grid.
“We are partnering with Ameren Missouri to provide all the necessary civil engineering, structural engineering, electrical engineering, and surveying to upgrade existing substations, new substations, and upgrading underground infrastructure,” Taylor Mason said. “We do it one step at a time.”
DMA spent years testifying in support of legislation that would update Missouri’s utility laws, Taylor Mason said. He called the 2018 bill that finally crossed the finish line “great” for companies and customers. Their perspective is a little different, the brothers pointed out, because they see the “aging infrastructure every day.”
The measure Taylor and Spencer Mason referred to, SB 564, is touted by Ameren Missouri as the catalyst for its Smart Energy Plan, which supports $5.3 billion in infrastructure upgrades over a five-year period. For DMA, the brothers noted the legislation has fostered more business opportunities, particularly around renewables and solar, that their firm is able to compete for.
“[The legislation] has provided a lot more opportunity for us and it is up to us to capitalize on it,” Spencer Mason said.
“There is a large focus to continue to move toward renewables as a source of power. So, I think we will continue to see a slight shift in that direction [in the future],” Taylor Mason said. “However, the hard infrastructure already in place – the power poles and wires – cannot be ignored. There is continued innovation that will continue to harden [existing] facilities for more reliability. You will see a lot of that infrastructure upgraded, but upgraded in a fashion so that it will last even longer than it did the first time.”