JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. â After the Missouri Supreme Court remanded part of Spire Missouriâs previous rate increase, the Public Service Commission (PSC) is moving forward with the issue as part of the companyâs latest request.
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 consumerâs 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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EFFERSON CITY â The state Public Service Commission has rejected an effort to prevent utility companies from disconnecting residential services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the commission said in a statement Wednesday.
The Consumers Council of Missouri, which advocates on behalf of consumer interests, had requested an emergency order for a moratorium on disconnections through at least March 31.
But the commission determined it didn’t have the authority to grant the council’s request, according to the statement.
(JEFFERSON CITY, MO)âĶCiting the need to âprotect the health and safety of the general public during the ever-worsening COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri, Consumers Council of Missouri filed a motion with the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) on December 7 for an emergency order to create a winter utility disconnection moratorium. The motion was supported by a variety of community organizations that have been convened by Empower Missouri since late October as the Utility Disconnection Prevention Working Group.
Jackie Hutchinson, executive director of the Consumers Council of Missouri said, âThe COVID-19 pandemic represents a major risk to health and safety during these winter months. The added strain of utility disconnections could increase stress on our health care system, through potential increases in transmission of coronavirus among families and communities.â
A very recent study at the Nicholas Institute at Duke University shows that eviction moratoria reduce the average growth rate of COVID-19 cases by 4.5%, and water and utility shutoff moratoria reduce the average growth rate by 2.6%. Â âWe have already seen how COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed communities with low incomes, Black Missourians, and other communities of color,â Hutchinson stated. âThe moratorium we are requesting could reduce the threat of increased COVID-19 cases caused when families must leave their homes and move in with others due to utility disconnections.â
Jeanette Mott Oxford, director of policy and organizing for Empower Missouri, added, âOur working group explored a variety of options in an attempt to secure a winter moratorium, but, with cold weather upon us, filing for the emergency order appeared to be the only path that met the urgency of the moment. We believe that the laws of our state allow the Public Service Commission to step in with this type of action when the health and safety of the public are at risk as they so clearly are in this pandemic.â
The PSC has posted notice of the motion and shortened the time for responses. Action by the Public Service Commissioners is expected by December 16
JEFFERSON CITY â Since testing positive for COVID-19 last week, Mary Boyd has been quarantining at home, unable to take any shifts at the Natureâs Bakery plant where she works near her home in Hazelwood. And thatâs left her with a several-hundred dollar electric bill and a looming utility disconnection.