Consumers Council of Missouri applauds members of the Missouri Senate from both sides of the aisle who acted on April 8th, 2026, to pass three pro-consumer amendments that can reduce the size of anticipated utility rate increases and protect property rights.
For Immediate Release
ST. LOUIS, MO — After four years of exemplary leadership, Sandra Padgett has announced retirement from Consumers Council of Missouri (CCM) on March 31, 2026. She will be succeeded by Edward L. Bryant who was selected by the Board of Directors through a search process that began in December, 2025.
CCM Board president Jeanette Mott Oxford said, “Padgett has been a transformational leader for Consumers Council of Missouri, and we are thankful for her amazing service as our executive director. She has brought us farther than we dared to envision four years ago, and we will remain forever in her debt.”
Padgett, an MSW and attorney, oversaw successful grant writing and fundraising campaigns that allowed CCM to add staff members and consumer protection projects responsive to emerging crises in Missouri. She also guided CCM’s work on the St. Louis Water Affordability Project and oversaw publication of a January 2026 report covering 2020-2025 that demonstrated that utility rates in MO are rising faster than national inflation and Missouri job wage growth.
Bryant has two decades of experience in government relations and community engagement work, including four years as Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement at the United Way of Greater St. Louis. Most recently he was Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications at Heartland Coca-Cola. He has also served on boards of many of the most impactful not-for-profits in the St. Louis Region and was a fellow in the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Leadership Development Fellows Program.
CCM Board vice president Shawna Collier said, “Due to our unwavering commitment to Missouri’s vulnerable households, we must expand our reach and impact as a truly statewide entity. We believe Mr. Bryant will work with our board to strengthen our infrastructure, deepen partnerships, and align our programs for current demands, expanding our ability to achieve our vital mission.” Founded in 1971, CCM advocates for consumers’ interests locally, regionally, statewide and nationally by organizing consumers and educating policy.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ST. LOUIS, MO – The Consumers Council of Missouri (CCM) applauds Spire for its proactive and visible promotion of the DollarHelp program – an essential resource that supports Missouri households struggling to keep up with gas bills. By actively encouraging donations, Spire helps ensure that community contributions fill critical gaps in winter heating assistance when other funding sources fall short.
“Spire’s commitment to making DollarHelp more widely known is a model for Ameren and Missouri American Water,” said Sandra Padgett, Executive Director of the Consumers Council of Missouri. “When people know how to donate to help their neighbors, fewer families face the threat of shutoffs, and more can keep their homes heated during the winter.”
CCM urges Ameren Missouri and Missouri American Water to follow Spire’s lead by more prominently promoting contributions to their own voluntary donation-based customer assistance programs:
“Many community supporters simply don’t know about Ameren’s Dollar More and Missouri American Water’s H2O Help programs,” Ms. Padgett noted. “By more openly and consistently marketing these resources, utilities can make it easier for Missourians who want to help their neighbors to know where to donate.” CCM calls on all Missouri utilities to recognize the importance of accessible, well-publicized consumer assistance programs. Greater visibility not only supports families in crisis but also strengthens our community by ensuring that no household is left behind when temperatures drop.
Contact:
Sandra Padgett, Executive Director, Consumers Council of MO
314-323-8760
spadgett@moconsumers.org
St. Louis, MO November 12, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ST. LOUIS, MO – In October 2025, Ameren disconnected 17,347 Missouri households for non-payment, representing approximately 1.6% of all Ameren customers, or roughly one in every 63 households. This marks the highest number of monthly disconnections reported by any utility since Missouri’s new utility reporting rule took effect in March 2024. The October disconnections also raise the total number of Ameren disconnections in 2025 to 87,664 households.
Currently, 219,375 Ameren customers, 20% of all households in its service area, are behind on their bills, with a combined $47.9 million in overdue payments.
“Missouri families are struggling. Households depend on electricity for items essential to daily living such as lighting, heating, refrigeration, cooking, and internet access.” said Sandra Padgett, Executive Director of the Consumers Council of Missouri. “Now more than ever, we need a low-income utility rate in Missouri to protect those who are unable to keep up.”
Rising utility rates have pushed many Missouri households to the breaking point:
A recently enacted Missouri law allows the Missouri Public Service Commission to establish a low-income utility rate or bill discount, based in part on “energy burden,” to help keep essential utilities affordable and reduce the risk of disconnections.
“The data is clear. Without policy action, tens of thousands more Missouri families will continue to face shutoffs,” Padgett said. “An affordable rate for low-income households is not just necessary – it’s overdue.”
Contact:
Sandra Padgett, Executive Director, Consumers Council of MO
314-323-8760
spadgett@moconsumers.org
St. Louis, MO November 12, 2025
St. Louis, MO — July 10, 2025 — For Immediate Release
A new study published today in JAMA Network Open finds that Saint Louis University (SLU) and Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) filed nearly 1,000 lawsuits against patients over unpaid medical bills from January 2020 to May 2023.
The research, led by Mary Shannon, MSW, shows these lawsuits were disproportionately filed in Black and low-income communities, often resulting in wage garnishments that deepened families’ financial hardship.
“This study confirms what many community advocates already knew: that medical debt lawsuits are harming Black and the low-income communities even in cities with academic medical centers working towards health equity,” said Shannon. “The data speaks volumes about the unequal burden of medical debt collection.”
Key Findings:
Broader Implications
The study highlights how even nonprofit institutions, despite tax exemptions for charitable missions, contribute to economic and health disparities through aggressive debt collection. It raises questions about physician billing practices and how universities shape the medical debt landscape.
“We hope this work encourages transparency, reflection and accountability, and policy reforms that protect patients,” said co-author Kathryn Koch, JD, MSW.
The study was conducted independently and without funding, with support from the Center for Social Development at WashU and Consumers Council of Missouri. Both researchers are alumnae of SLU and WashU.
Read the full article in JAMA Network Open here.
Contact:
Mary Shannon
314-297-7775
maryshannon414@gmail.com
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
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.
Senate Substitute # 2 for Senate Bill 4 (SB4) strips away current consumer protections and stacks the deck in favor of monopoly investor-owned utility companies and their stockholders. Please contact members of the House Utilities Committee immediately to share your opposition to this bill.
Consumers Council of Missouri (CCM) condemns the 22-11 passage of Senate Substitute #2 for Senate Bill 4 (SB4) on Monday, February 24, as out of touch with the high energy burden already being experienced by many utility customers. According to calculations from utility rate experts, SB 4 will add more than $1,115 per year in utility rate increases to Missouri households captive to monopoly companies.
“Energy burden in Missouri disproportionally affects people who are Black and Brown and people who have low income,” said CCM executive director Sandra Padgett. “The Senate’s approval of SB 4 is not only shocking but also endangers the health of Missourians who are struggling to make ends meet.”
(Note: For more on “energy burden in Missouri”, go to THIS LINK.)
SB 4 contains multiple provisions that advantage monopoly investor-owned utility companies at the expense of rate payers. Among these dangerous policy changes are:
CCM and a diverse set of opponents of SB 4 now turn their attention toward stopping this legislation on the House side of the Capitol Building. Jeanette Mott Oxford, Board president of CCM, said, “Utility customers need to join us in closely monitoring the House debate on SB 4. There has been a blurring of ethical guidelines expected around a 133-page complicated bill that would have such far-reaching consequences on household budgets.”
Oxford cited the following as examples of ethical concerns:
Media Advisory from Consumers Council of MO
November 11, 2024
News Media Contact:
Sandra Padgett: spadgett@moconsumers.org
On November 12th, the Missouri Public Service Commission will hold a local public hearing at University of Missouri-St Louis (“UMSL”) to receive customer comments in a rate increase case filed by Missouri-American Water Company (“MAWC”).
This case includes a +40% rate increase for residential customers.
Hearing Details:
· When? 6:00 pm on Tuesday, November 12th at UMSL, Millennium Student Center, Century Room C, 17 Arnold B. Grobman Dr.
· A public information/question and answer session will begin at 6:00 pm followed by the Commission receiving testimony from the public.
· Members of the public are advised to wait until the Q & A session is completed before providing testimony on their personal experience regarding the affordability of MAWC water rates and the proposed rate increase.
