According to a report issued by Strategen Consulting, Inc., Ameren and Spire customers have experienced significant recent increases in their utility bills, outpacing both national inflation (25.4%) and Missouri average weekly wage growth (32%). This report focuses on the years 2020 – 2025.

Ameren Missouri customers saw major electricity bill increases that outpaced both inflation and wage growth.
• Average summer bills rose 34.3%
• Average winter bills rose 32.9%
These increases are not driven by fuel costs. Ameren’s fuel charge has stayed relatively steady. Higher rates tied to infrastructure investments were the main driver.

Spire Missouri customers faced even steeper increases in natural gas bills.
• Spire West winter bills rose 95.1% for a typical household using 120 ccf
• Spire East winter bills rose 60.8%  for the same usage
Winter gas bills rose far more than summer bills because gas is mainly used for home heating. 

Read the full report here: MO IOU Rate Analysis 2025

Please join Consumers Council on Thursday, January 22, 2026, for a webinar on upcoming state legislation affecting utilities. This session will provide an overview of key 2026 legislative proposals, with a focus on how critical utility policies impact consumers across Missouri.

Event Details

Date and Time: January 22, 2026 at 12:00 noon Central Time

Location: Zoom — All registrants will receive a Zoom link upon registration for this event.

Cost: There is no charge for this event.

If you would like to become a member of Consumers Council for only $10, or donate to our organization, please CLICK HERE.

Consumers Council of Missouri was proud to participate in a meaningful and well-attended Communities First STL meeting in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Communities First serves as one of our advisory groups and plays an important role in guiding our community engagement and advocacy work across St. Louis.

The meeting was facilitated by Antonio Weston, Community Engagement Coordinator and Social Media Lead for Consumers Council of Missouri. Spencer Gould, Special Assistant to the Commissioner, along with the billing manager and representatives from St. Louis City Water, joined residents to share updates on the city’s water assistance program, lead service line inventory, and available payment plan options through the Collector of Revenue’s Office.

More than 30 residents took part in an open and energetic conversation. Community members raised thoughtful questions about water service and affordability, and Spencer Gould provided clear, detailed responses. Additional perspectives and support were offered by Alderman Rasheen Aldridge and John Coffman, Legal Counsel for Consumers Council of Missouri.

This meeting reflects CCM’s commitment to showing up for communities and ensuring residents have access to accurate information, meaningful dialogue, and opportunities to shape the policies that affect their daily lives.

Consumers Council of Missouri will continue working to level the playing field for all Missouri consumers.

St. Louis City Water Assistance Application: https://shorturl.at/pKUdF

Photos from the event:

In June 2024, Consumers Council of Missouri launched a three-year initiative (2024–2027) funded by Missouri Foundation for Health to assess water affordability in the City of St. Louis.

Unlike many cities across the country, St. Louis does not use individual water meters for most households. Instead, residents are billed a flat rate based on the physical attributes of their homes, such as the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and the frontage of their lot. This approach often results in water bills that do not reflect actual usage. It also impacts sewer bills, since the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) applies the same flat-rate formula to determine sewer charges in the absence of metered water use.

Consumers Council is working with water affordability experts to analyze data obtained from the City of St. Louis and develop community-driven solutions for residents struggling to pay their water and sewer bills. At the same time, we are engaging directly with community advisory groups to both share information about water costs and hear firsthand about the challenges households face.

Our community advisory groups include Hyde Park, Lewis Place–Fountain Park, and Southside Wellness. We have also met with neighborhood associations and advocacy partners such as Vandeventer II, Missouri Coalition of the Environment, Kingsville Corp., and others who share a commitment to making water more affordable and accessible.

Funding through the grant allowed Consumers Council to add a Community Engagement and Social Media Coordinator, Antonio Weston, who is leading on-the-ground engagement and helping ensure that resident voices shape this work.

Through this initiative, Consumers Council is building the foundation for policies that ensure water affordability, fairness, and sustainability for St. Louis City residents.

Summary of Decision

Spire Rate Case

(GR-2025-0107)

Background:

In November 2024, Spire gas utility requested a 15% rate increase.  Consumers Council of Missouri (“CCM”) intervened in this case, filed expert testimony challenging Spire’s request, encouraged public testimony at hearings, and ultimately secured several consumer victories through negotiation with the utility and other parties.  On Wednesday, September 3, 2025, the MoPSC approved a settlement of all issues in this case.  

Key Wins for Residential Customers

• Rate Request Reduced: Spire’s original request for a 15% rate increase was reduced to an average 10% increase.
• Residential Households Protected: The large industrial and commercial customers wanted residential households to pay for a larger percentage of the rate increase.  Our evidence showed that applying the increase unevenly would have resulted in households subsidizing large customers.  The settlement ensures that the percentage impact is roughly the same across all sizes of customer classes.
• Limited Fixed Monthly Charge Increase: The fixed monthly customer charge will increase from $20 to $22 but our advocacy prevented a higher increase.  A lower customer charge  gives consumers more control over their bills when they engage in energy conservation and energy efficiency.
• Continuation of Customer Assistance Programs: Current assistance programs for customers are extended, including the income-eligible Payment Partner Program and the Critical Medical Needs program, through September 2028.
• New Low-Income Assistance Program: An income-eligible program will be created for low-income families.  Essentially, the monthly $22 customer charge will be waived for those who qualify for LIHEAP energy assistance.
• ISRS Reporting Requirements: The new Spire settlement includes Infrastructure System Replacement Surcharge (“ISRS”) reporting requirements for which Consumers Council advocated.  Our hope is that this new public reporting information will help us drill down into what is going on with the ISRS surcharge and help us find ways to ensure that it is operating correctly.

We Predict that Household Gas Bills Will Continue to Rise

Household natural gas rates have skyrocketed since 2021.  As we reported, the average Spire East customer has already experienced a +62% increase in their winter bill since winter 2020-2021, and +109% increase for Spire West customers. The main reason for this outrageous spike in Spire’s rates is ISRS, which raises bills outside of rate cases like this one.  ISRS is a gas pipeline replacement and relocation charge.

While the result in this case is better than what was originally requested by Spire, the relief may be short lived.  In a new law, promoted by Spire and MoPSC Chair Kayla Hahn, the Missouri Legislature passed a “Future Test Year” methodology as part of Senate Bill 4 in April 2025. Signed by Governor Kehoe, this law will add forward-looking estimates of costs to be included in natural gas bills, instead of audited historical costs. Consumers Council estimates that this will cause another 10% increase in gas bills (an average of $276 per year per household) in the next rate case filed by Spire.

Consumers Council’s 2025 Annual Fundraiser, “Building Equity and Healthy Communities”, will be held on October 5, 2025 from 4:00 – 6:00pm at the Phyllis Wheatley Heritage Center, 2711 Locust St., St. Louis, MO 63103.

Celebrate an evening of impact and inspiration as we honor outstanding champions of consumer advocacy in our community. Join us in recognizing the strength of collective action and supporting the vital work that protects and empowers Missouri consumers.

Our keynote speaker this year will be LJ Punch, MD, who will speak on what the May 16th tornado and recovery efforts have revealed about building equity and healthy communities in St Louis. Active in Ferguson and the tornado-impacted areas, Dr. Punch describes himself as a human, parent, partner, and trauma surgeon dedicated to community healing.

Ruth Ehresman will receive the Alberta Slavin Award.

Bernie Hayes will receive the Joyce Armstrong Award.

Ed Weisbart, MD, will receive the Directors’ Award.

Beer, wine, soft drinks, and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. Convenient parking is available in lots adjacent to the event location and on the street.

Online registration for this event is now closed. For information regarding ticket availability, please contact info@moconsumers.org.

Sponsorships

Make a lasting impact by sponsoring Building Equity and Healthy Communities! Join us in supporting Consumers Council while enjoying a memorable evening. As a sponsor, you’ll receive  exclusive recognition opportunities. For sponsorship opportunities, see below.

On April 25, 2025, Consumers Council of Missouri held its annual meeting, reflecting on a successful 2024 and looking ahead to the future.