Panel OKs rate increase for KC utility, refund for Laclede customers

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Electric customers in western Missouri will see rates rise about 10 percent with the new year, the Missouri Public Service Commission decided Thursday.

Meanwhile, gas customers in the eastern part of the state may be getting a refund.

The commission, on a 3-2 vote, approved a roughly 10 percent increase, or $50 million, for Kansas City Power and Light. The higher rates take effect Jan. 1. The company had sought a nearly $56 million, or 11.5 percent, increase.

The commission said Thursday evening that it had not yet calculated what the higher rate means in dollar figures to the average customer.

The commission said this will be KCPL's first rate increase since May 1988.

It was also the first rate case since the commission approved a plan last year for KCPL electric service looking forward. The plan calls for building a coal-fired power plant, environmental upgrades to other plants, wind generation and energy conservation programs.

The commission said the rate increase also reflects the electric company's higher operating costs, fuel and transportation issues.

KCPL has about 267,000 customers in 13 western Missouri counties.

The commission also approved a 5 percent rate increase, or $20 million a year, for Empire District Electric Co. on a 3-2 vote. The company wanted a $29.5 million, or 9.6 percent, revenue increase to cover rising fuel and power costs.

That company has nearly 137,000 customers in southwestern Missouri.

Separately, the commission announced that Laclede Gas Co. residential customers can get some money back from the utility.

The commission approved an agreement for the company to provide bill credits of at least $500,000. The money is for customers who received a "catch-up" bill in November 2004 or later for a period that covered more than a year's worth of usage. The credits should be made within a couple of months.

The agreement resolves a complaint from the Office of Public Counsel, a consumer advocate for utility customers, that alleged Laclede violated commission rules by billing customers for estimated gas usage for more than a year without actually reading the meter.

Going forward, Laclede can't bill residential customers for undercharges going back more than a year from when it last read the meter. The commission said it will monitor Laclede's handling of billing practices for the next three years.

Laclede has about 631,000 natural gas customers in St. Louis city and county and other eastern Missouri counties.