Category: Utilities

St. Louis Beacon, January 9, 2013 Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed Bill Kenney to the Missouri Public Service Commission, a move that could end a temporary logjam for the powerful entity that regulates the state's utilities. Kenney is a former Republican state senator from the Kansas City area who most recently served as Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder’s chief of staff. He is perhaps best known for his tenure as a quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. “As a former two-term s ...

Jefferson City News Tribune, October 6, 2014 The Fair Energy Rate Action Fund, or FERAF, thinks the Missouri Public Service Commission got it wrong last week. With a unanimous vote, the five-member commission on Wednesday said that Noranda Aluminum had not made its case that Ameren had taken in more money than its current rates allowed, making those rates “unjust and unreasonable.” “Ameren’s own quarterly reports show it has earned excessive profits for the past 33 months, ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 1, 2014 In dual victories for Ameren Missouri, Missouri regulators dismissed on Wednesday an overearnings complaint against the utility and a request from Noranda Aluminum to reconsider its case for a lower electric rate. The Missouri Public Service Commission’s order denied the southeast Missouri smelter’s rehearing request in a case that began in February. The smelter initially sought a rate that would lower its $170 million annual power bil ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 5, 2014 If you rely on Ameren Missouri for electricity, as most people in the region west of the Mississippi do, here is what you need to know about the utility monopoly’s months-long rate battle with its largest customer: One way or another, you are going to pay more. In March, Noranda Aluminum, which operates a huge smelter in New Madrid in southeast Missouri, said it needed lower rates to stay competitive in a depressed aluminum market. M ...

Associate Press, July 29, 2014 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. • Ameren Missouri is seeking approval to add about $1.50 to customers' monthly electric bills. The Missouri Public Service Commission says Ameren wants to adjust the monthly fee that compensates the utility for changes in fuel costs at its power plants among other things. The PSC says the proposal would increase the fee on an average residential customer's electric bill to $5.17 from the current $3.63 a month. It ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 27, 2014 When it comes to electric rate fights, Ameren Missouri is undefeated over the last decade. Rate increases: 5. Rate decreases: 0. On Monday, consumer groups will take another go at the St. Louis-based electric utility. The Missouri Public Service Commission carved out the whole week to take testimony and evidence in the case, which accuses Ameren Missouri of earning more profit than regulators allow. Not only that, they will argue t ...

Kansas City Star, July 18, 2014 Many utilities allow payday lenders to collect utility bill payments from customers, but Missouri regulators are considering whether to stop the practice. The dispute has simmered for years. Critics say it’s ridiculous to collect utility payments at places they say provide loans at sky-high rates and target cash-strapped consumers. Customers pay off their utility bills but may find it too convenient to take out a loan to do so. Utilities def ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 4, 2014 Ameren Missouri filed a request Thursday to raise electric rates by nearly 10 percent, the sixth time since 2006 the state’s largest utility has sought a general rate increase. The St. Louis-based utility is seeking permission from its regulator, the Missouri Public Service Commission, to increase rates by $264 million. If the PSC grants Ameren the full request, the typical household would pay about $10 more a month in utility bills. The ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 22, 2014 Ameren Missouri customers will be paying a little more for electricity starting later this month. The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved an increase in the surcharge customers pay to account for Ameren's fuel and power purchases. The fuel adjustment clause will rise by 66 cents a month to a total of $3.63 for a residential customer using 1,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month. The change will take effect May 27. Th ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 14, 2014 As a rebate that subsidized rooftop solar panels nears its end, two Ameren Missouri customers have filed a formal complaint with the state’s utility regulator in an attempt to keep the money flowing. The complaint, submitted Wednesday to the Missouri Public Service Commission, accuses Ameren Missouri of violating the state’s renewable energy law when it denied their rebate applications. State law keeps utilities’ renewable energy efforts ...