utilities

Evergy Kansas Central customers will see bills increase about 8.6% to fund the construction of two natural gas plants and a solar plants. Evergy last received a $41 million rate hike in 2023.

Officials with KC Water say heavy rainfall around Omaha, Nebraska, is the reason people in the Kansas City area have noticed a strange taste and odor to their water in the last couple of days. The water is safe to drink, officials insist, and the treated water is slowly moving south, so everyone's water should taste the way it always has by Wednesday.

About $378 million of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding remains to be distributed. Without federal staff, some experts and advocates worry that low-income customers won’t be able to pay for cooling as the months get hotter.

The new Missouri law allows utilities to charge customers for power plants as they are being built, rather than after they are complete. Consumer and environmental groups say it will make utilities significantly more expensive and worsen climate change.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program was designed to help those with few resources cover their home energy bills in the summer and winter — but the entire staff was fired last week. Since October, the program has helped more than 100,00 Missouri households.

The bill is made up of dozens of policy changes governing how utilities operate in Missouri. Utility companies say they need more power plants to meet expected demand, but critics say the bill will significantly increase costs for customers.

The bill has dozens of policy changes that affect how utility companies are allowed to operate and charge customers in Missouri.

Lee's Summit Republican Sen. Mike Cierpiot's bill would repeal a 1976 ban on charging customers for new power plants as they are built to meets future energy needs. Critics say it’s a cash grab by utilities who will undoubtedly raise rates.

Both Evergy and Ameren Missouri asked a Missouri House committee to support legislation that would allow them to charge customers for natural, or methane, gas power plants even before they’re completed, saying the state needs more electrical power.

Currently, Missouri utilities rely on audited past expenses — called a “test year” — to set rates. Critics say that allowing gas, water and sewer utilities to base rates on upcoming expenses would hurt customers.

School districts have canceled class Monday, and city halls around the metro will be closed as snow continues to accumulate. The city's warming shelters are open, and RideKC buses are serving as warming spaces as well.

Evergy Missouri West wants the Public Service Commission to OK a nearly 14% increase in electric rates, giving the company up to $105 million more in annual revenue. Last year, the company reported $731 million in earnings.