Don't Let Utilities Profit While Missouri Families Pay the Price!

Missouri’s proposed SB4 (Cierpiot), SB186 (Cierpiot), HB92 (O'Donnell), HB853 (Hurlbert), HB963 (Pollitt), SB48 (Trent), SB5 (Cierpiot), SB214 (Trent), and SB618 (Cierpiot) are a dangerous overreach that prioritizes corporate profits over the well-being of Missourians. These bills unduly favor gas utilities, allowing them to depreciate stationary property over 20 years, leading to inaccurate property assessments and potential rate hikes. This is not just bad policy—it’s a direct attack on the wallets of struggling families and businesses already burdened by rising costs. The bills also permit gas utilities to use a future test year for rate setting, a speculative and biased practice that could unfairly inflate rates. This means utilities can charge customers based on hypothetical future costs, rather than real-world data. Combined with weakened penalties for non-compliance with federal gas safety standards, these bills endanger both public safety and economic stability. Worse, these bills offer significant rate discounts to new and large gas consumers, creating an uneven playing field that could devastate renewable energy development. This is not economic development—it’s corporate welfare for monopoly utilities. The bills also include provisions that shift investment risk from shareholders to captive ratepayers, forcing Missourians to foot the bill for speculative projects like gas-powered turbine plants. This will lead to higher utility rates, increased economic strain, and even evictions for those unable to pay their bills. Programs to help reduce energy demand and support utility payments are already inadequate, and these bills will only make matters worse. Additionally, SB4 includes a carve-out for META, allowing them to buy renewable energy credits to offset their fossil fuel usage. This undermines Missouri’s energy goals and unfairly advantages large corporations at the expense of everyday citizens. The changes to the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) process effectively silence public input, leaving ratepayers—who have no choice in utility providers—without a voice. Lawmakers must oppose any repeal of Missouri’s ban on Construction Work In Progress (CWIP), which voters rightfully rejected in 1976. CWIP guarantees energy inflation by allowing utilities to pass construction costs onto customers before services are even provided. Missourians have already rejected CWIP, yet the legislature is ignoring the will of the people to push through these even more harmful bills. Missourians deserve better. These bills set the stage for waste, fraud, and abuse, while prioritizing utility profits over public safety, affordability, and the environment. Lawmakers must stand with Missouri families and reject all these bills. The future of our state depends on it.