The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold public hearings offering a critical opportunity for residents to speak out about the affordability of Spire gas bills. If you live in Spire’s service area, we strongly urge you to attend and share your story.
A substantial percentage of the total population of St. Louis is living in Census Tracts with unaffordable bills. These Census Tracts include households with characteristics that increase their risk when water and sewer bills are too high.
In July 2024, Ameren Missouri asked the Missouri PSC for an annual revenue increase of $446.2 million, and proposed increasing the residential fixed monthly charge approximately 15.9%. Consumers Council of Missouri successfully intervened in this case, but with mixed results.
Please join Consumers Council for a fun wine tasting party, on June 27, 2025, to support our vision of building a more inclusive and equitable community for Missouri consumers who are low- and moderate-income.
On March 5, 2025, the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) ordered Spire to respond to allegations from customers regarding improper account disconnections without prior notice, lack of awareness regarding account ownership, and delays in reconnections after arrears were paid.
What:
Rally Against Higher Utility Bills
Who:
Where:
Capitol Building, 201 W. Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101
Sidewalk, North Side (by the Missouri River)
Background:
Gov. Mike Kehoe has announced he will sign Senate Bill 4 (SB4) into law at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 9. Opponents of Senate Bill 4 will hold a small rally against that action and a media conference outside the Capitol Building at 12:15 p.m.
The biggest dangers to consumers in SB 4 are:
Consumers Council of Missouri has projected that SB 4 will cost monopoly utility rate payers at least $1,115 more per year. This estimate was produced by looking at how similar policies have impacted on customers in other states.
Monopoly utility companies put their foot on the gas for SB 4 throughout this Legislative Session by dispatching more than seven dozen staff and contract lobbyists into the halls of the Capitol Building. Even though reliable power is a duty in the compact with Missouri to which monopoly companies are obligated, the lobbyists peddled fear that the lights would not come on if SB 4 did not pass.
SB 4 sponsor Senator Mike Cierpiot pre-filed the legislation on December 1, 2024, and moved it quickly through the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and Environment which he chairs. It was passed by the Senate 22-11 on February 24 with one absent. Sen. Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis County) led efforts to improve the bill’s language, but continued to speak against it and voted no.
House leadership sped SB 4 through the House in a single week, March 10-13. The final vote was 96-44 with three voting present and 19 absent. Bi-partisan opposition was present in roughly equal amounts in both the House and Senate.
With many economists predicting rising inflation and economic volatility in 2025, partly due to new tariff policies, higher utility rates are of deep concern to Missouri rate payers. Some opponents say SB 4 subsidizes the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries, socializing risk and privatizing profit while polluting the air and creating other health risks. Opponents are also concerned about the firing of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) staff at the federal level by the Trump Administration last week. It is presently unknown whether energy assistance will be available in adequate amounts for families already at risk of utility disconnection.
For More Information: Sandra Padgett, 314-323-8760
The Annual Membership Meeting for Consumers Council of Missouri will be held April 25, 2025.
Yesterday, the federal government terminated the entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
A report by Roger Colton, commissioned by Consumers Council of Missouri, finds that St. Louis City households have a significant degree of vulnerability to high water and sewer bills.
Gov. Mike Kehoe has indicated support for SB 4, but CCM has sent a letter requesting a veto. It is important that Gov. Kehoe knows the bill has opposition, so we hope that you will let him know that you object to the bill.
