Ask Your Legislators to Oppose Anti-Consumer Bills
A rash of anti-consumer bills for utilities – electric, gas and water -- are under consideration by the Missouri General Assembly. Those of most concern to groups such as CCM who advocate for the interests of consumers are being presented under the guise of an Infrastructure System Replacement Surcharge, commonly referred to as ISRS (pron. ISS-russ). An ISRS is a fee added to customers’ bills to cover the cost of replacing pipes or structures that are worn, have been damaged or are inadequate for other reasons. The fee allows the utility to get more money sooner than it would under the normal ratemaking process.
The legislation applies to investor-owned utilities that are regulated by the Missouri Public Service Commission because they have the privilege of being monopoly service providers.
CCM opposes all the following bills. One reason for opposing all the bills is that they distort the regular ratemaking process whereby all financial factors of a company – revenue and expenses – are taken into account in determining a fair rate. Surcharges allowed for a single issue – such a replacing infrastructure – shift risk to customers, away from the corporation.
To find out who your legislators are, go to: Missouri Legislator Lookup
Senate Bill 207 and House Bill 398
The bill would let investor-owned utilities raise rates automatically without any meaningful review by the Public Service Commission. These utilities are Ameren Missouri, KCP&L, KCP&L GMO and Empire District. The bill guts Missouri’s rational rate-making process that has given consumers at least a fighting chance against the utilities for many decades.
Over the past five years Ameren was allowed to raise its rates $1.1 billion. That cost consumers $2.8 billion more just when they were trying to make ends meet during the economic downturn that devastated many families.
No other state allows anything like this broadly defined surcharge. It will drive up the cost of doing business in Missouri and could cause businesses to leave.
To read the bills, go to: Joint Bill Tracking
Senate Bill 240 and House Bill 473
Natural gas utilities currently operate under a law that allows them a limited pipeline replacement surcharge. These bills would eliminate or weaken the consumer protections contained in that law.
To read the bills, go to: Joint Bill Tracking
Senate Bill 297 and House Bill 198
This bill would allow almost all investor-owned water companies to assess their customers a surcharge to replace infrastructure. The bill would expand a surcharge that is currently limited to aging infrastructure in St. Louis County and expand it statewide. It would also increase the size and type of projects that can be quickly passed on to consumers through such a surcharge with little PSC scrutiny.
To read the bills, go to: Joint Bill Tracking
PLEASE, contact your senator and representative NOW!