5 days ago
Public hearing held over potential Spire rate increase
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Public Service Commission hosted a public forum on Wednesday evening, discussing the rate increase .
The 11-month process includes five public forums all over the state, after Spire asked the commission to raise their rates by 15%, or around $14 per household per month. In total, the company would receive nearly $290 million from customers in Missouri.
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'We recognize that seems like a big number,' said David Yonce, the managing director of regulatory affairs for Spire Missouri. 'When these rates do become effective, the last increase that we had was three years ago.'
The energy company filed the increase on November 25, 2024. Ten days earlier, Spire enacted a rate decrease, thanks to a change in the price of natural gas. For Western Missouri the rate decrease amounted to roughly $18.70 per month.
Eighty percent of the proposed increase will be used to recoup investment made improving Spire's infrastructure, like pipelines and meters.
The Spire team at the meeting said they were replacing pipes made of bare steel and cast iron.
'This is important to be able to reduce the possibility of leaks in the future,' Yonce said. 'We have to be able to provide our customers with service even on those peak conditions when it's really cold, and our customers depend on us to heat their homes.'
Outside the meeting, opponents of the rate increase rallied in front of the community center.
They say any price increase is unfair.
'This is brazen corporate price gouging,' said Cashmere Ketterman with Sunrise Movement KC. 'In my opinion, frankly, they don't need an additional $200 million for a quote unquote, system improvements.'
Ketterman said the focus should be on renewable energy and supporting the working class.
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'Even like a $14, $15 or $20 rate increase, that could be devastating for most Missouri families,' he said. 'If I had a recommendation, the recommendation to them [Spire] would to be get out of our communities and to city council, fund clean energy! We deserve affordable utility prices. That's the very least they can do for us if they're not going to provide clean and renewable energy.'
The Missouri Public Service Commission will make a decision on the rate increase in October 2025.
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