Sen. Wayne Wallingford pushes for passage of electric-rate bill

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, is pushing for passage of legislation he has introduced in the Senate to provide lower electric rates for two manufacturers to open plants in the Bootheel.

Wallingford said his bill has the support of Senate GOP leaders and Gov. Eric Greitens as lawmakers work to pass the measure in this week’s special session.

Greitens called the special session in an effort to help entice a steel mill to New Madrid, Missouri, and allow for the reopening of an aluminum smelter. The two manufacturing efforts could bring some 500 jobs to the impoverished area, officials said.

Greitens called lawmakers back to Jefferson City after electric-rate legislation failed to pass in the regular session that ended May 12.

Wallingford said his bill, drawn up in consultation with the governor’s office, would give the Public Service Commission (PSC) the power to allow lower electric rates for the smelter and steel mill for up 10 years or Dec. 31, 2027, whichever occurs first.

It would allow the PSC to “look at something beyond cost of service” in determining those rates.

Under Wallingford’s bill, the PSC could take into account factors such as economic development, improving the tax base and providing jobs.

In order to receive the special rate, under Wallingford’s bill, a company must file an application with the PSC requesting the rate and provide information as to how such a special rate serves the public interest.

“Mine is very narrowly scripted,” Wallingford said, explaining it does not allow investor-owned utilities such as Ameren Missouri to more easily increase rates and receive compensation for projects such as electrical-grid improvements.

The House on Wednesday handily passed similar but broader legislation. The House bill would allow any large industrial energy user with a facility that uses more than 50 megawatts of electricity per month to request a lower rate.

Wallingford said Ameren residential and business customers would pay more to offset lower rates for the two manufacturing plants.

“Nobody wants their rates to go up,” he said.

But he said it is estimated the increase would add only about $1 to a monthly utility bill, a small price to pay for badly needed economic development in the Bootheel.

The closure of the Noranda aluminum smelter last year caused more than 900 people to lose their jobs. Wallingford said some of those workers live in his district.

Wallingford and other supporters of the legislation believe many of those workers would be hired if a new smelter operation and a steel mill open.

Sens. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, and Gary Romine, R-Farmington, opposed the electric-rate bill as drafted in the regular session, arguing it could lead to higher electric rates for residential and business customers and diminish the PSC’s authority in defending electric ratepayers.

But Romine now has crafted legislation Wallingford said largely mirrors his bill. Libla is co-sponsoring that measure.

Libla said recently he was not opposed to a special electric rate for the proposed New Madrid plants, but such legislation needs to be crafted to retain necessary PSC oversight of utility monopolies such as Ameren.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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