Consumers Council is an intervenor in Liberty Electric’s request for a 29.64% rate increase in southwest Missouri. With 37,000 out of 114,000 households identified as having a high energy burden, the need for targeted assistance is urgent.
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.
Residents met at the Southside Wellness Center in St. Louis to participate in a virtual hearing for the Ameren electric rate case before the Missouri PSC. Read what they had to say about the proposed rate hike.
Ameren Missouri is seeking a +15.77% rate hike. The average residential customer could see an increase of approximately $17.45 per month. Local public hearings will take place from January 21-27, 2025.
Jan. 21, 2025 @ 6:00 pm – Cape Girardeau
Jan. 22, 2025 @ Noon – St Charles
Jan. 22, 2025 @ 6:00 pm – St. Louis Community College-Forest Park
Jan. 23, 2025 @ Noon – Jefferson City
Jan. 23, 2025 @ 6:00 pm – Virtual Hearing
Jan. 24, 2025 @ Noon – Virtual Hearing
Jan. 27, 2025 @ Noon – Sunset Hills
For more details on the Ameren hearings, including how how to register for the virtual hearings, please visit:
The Spire natural gas utility is requesting an annual rate increase of over $100 million for the delivery of gas to its customers.
Consumers Council believes that this request is too high, and doesn’t take into account the economic impact suffered by most consumers due to the recent pandemic.
Spire is asking that consumers pay a fixed fee of $20.00 each month for its Eastern Missouri territory, and $22.00 more for Western Missouri consumers. This fee would be unavoidable by conservation must be paid each month before any natural gas is used in your home.
Consumers Council believes that higher fixed rate charges hurt those most energy burdened, and low use customers, including many elderly customers.
A higher fixed rate also reduces consumer’s ability to control their utility bills by using less.
Consumers Council and Legal Aid of Eastern Missouri have requested that Spire implement more effective assistance programs for vulnerable customers and a more user-friendly registry for customers with medical issues. Their current registry system only registers a fraction of those with medical needs.
Media Reminder: PSC Local Public Hearings in Spire Rate Case Start on June 21
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The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold virtual local public hearings in January to receive customer comment in water and sewer rate cases filed by the Missouri-American Water Company (MAWC). Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these local public hearings will be conducted virtually by WebEx and telephone conference. They will be streamed live on the Commission’s website (psc.mo.gov).
