Must be nice to be able to jack your prices up whenever you'd like to. Take care of your own facility and pay for your own environmental upgrades. That's the cost of doing business...take it from your profits!

Can't take it from the profits. That's what companies use to pay those big bonuses, and exhorbitant salalries for their executives!! Besides, whoever heard of absorbing the cost of doing business? What an idiotic idea! Make the customer pay...that's the American way!

The Public Service Commission regulates the returns that utilities may earn. They basically set a cap on the company's return on its (actually shareholder) investment. Currently KCPL is earning just under 7% . . . big bucks compared to what we can get on our savings accounts but not so much compared to other companies. The PSC also reviews the company's costs (including salaries) and does not allow expenses deemed exorbitant to figure into its calculations.

Bashing regulated utilities is uncalled for.

Thank the Environmental Protection Agency and the US government. These worthless environmental controls put on businesses are always going to be put on us little guys. It is a way to tax us without it looking like a tax. These "environmental controls" are what makes things from cars to energy to food cost so much.

You haven't seen anything yet. If the man-made global warming crowd gets their way, and this administration mandates strict environmental controls, the power company will be forced to raise their rates dramatically to be able to pay for emissions trading ('cap and trade').

While their environmental upgrades are going to go a long way, there is no way, with our rising energy demands, they can stay under the cap levels that are being floated out there.

Trixie: You are correct, utilities are regulated, but as far as what is 'fair' compensation for officers is something that has been debated. The top 4 executive (CEO, CFO, COO, and Executive VP) made a total compensation of $8,447,993 (Reuters). That is over half of the proposed increase for the entire St. Joseph area. This pay doesn't seem obscene when compared to the $100 million plus that large banking and credit card companies get (and have recently went bankrupt), but the average household makes less than 1/2 of 1% of this sum. Does it make a huge difference on everyone's monthly bill? Not really. Is it wrong in principle? Yes. Did everyone else get a 11.85% raise this year? I sure did not.

Thisoleman. Almost half of that compensation is non-cash long-term incentives. The comparison to average household income is seductive but wrong headed. The average household does not have the expertise, responsibility, and education that these executives do. You should investigate how they compare to others in the SAME industry (i.e. NOT banking and insurance).

If executive compensation does represent over half of the proposed increase over the entire St. Joseph area it simply means that St. Joseph is a very small part of Great Plains Energy. Now don't you wish you still had SJL&P?

As we rapidly head down that road to complete government control...call it what you may...the executives continue to prosper in the name of the environment while China continues to pollute their little hearts out. Isn't the American way great!

Next time you see the Sierra Club protesting outside a utility company. Make sure you thank them for your rate increase. The company doesn't absorb the cost of these environmental upgrades, they pass it on to you.

I agree. The US has been exporting jobs and pollution for too long. We need to require that the foreign producers we buy from follow the same rules that domestic producers do or stop doing business with them.

YES! Just what I wanted to hear today!

Americans have been spoiled for way too long. Reality is simply catching up with us. As several on here have posted, "There is no such thing as a free lunch".

What "free lunch", orliandor? I've been paying my utility bills all along, and the utilities have NOT been giving me their product for nothing!! They raise their rates whenever they have maintenance or upgrades to perform on their infrastructure. That's a "cost of doing business", and the customer shouldn't have to totally foot the bill.

thisoleman is correct about vp compensation for KCPL. the rate change has been a couple of months in the making. kcpl had a double-whamy with the purchase of the defunked aquila, and then had to pay off one of their vp's for retirement. must be nice.

Consumers SHOULD foot the bill. Consumers have been enjoying the comfort and convenience provided by electric power, depleting precious natural resources and polluting the atmosphere.

Responsible lawmakers have deemed that we must do what we can to preserve the planet for future generations. If Americans wish to continue comfortable lifestyles and be responsible citizens of the planet, they will be required to pay the price.

No free lunch.

Preserve the planet - what a line of B-S, do you really think China, India, Russia - any number of countries give a rats behind about the enviroment?

They will be polluting it at a rate never seen, and whatever we do to try and stem it will be futile - and will only help end America as we knew it, as we are and will become even more incapable of competing on the global market.

Now, we need to do what we can WITHIN REASON

We can choose to be responsible, or we can choose to follow China, India and Russia as our new role models.

This rate increase approval is very frustrating in these times of recession/depression. A 12% increase is far more than most of us will receive in our paychecks over 4 years, much less all at once.
That which incites the most cynicsm are the reasons in the original rate increase application in Sept 2008 (pre-election) and the reasons stated now for the rate increase. Here is the link to the original rate increase request as provided to shareholders on Sept 5: http://www.greatplainsenergy.com/investor/NR_Sep05_08.pdf. One line extracted from this filing: "The requests also seek recovery of increased operating costs." What increased operating costs? According to official government statistics, the Consumer Price Index (cost of goods & services) is under 3% and the Employment Cost Index (measure of wages and benefits paid by employers) is less than 5% (both on an annualized basis). Granted, raw energy prices increased significantly from Oct '07 to the high around July '08, but those costs were passed on to customers as energy charges. I ask again, what increased operating costs?
Another most infuriating line extracted from that same report: "Through ongoing operational savings realized through KCP&L’s integration with Aquila, the rate increases KCP&L is seeking from customers are significantly lower than they would have otherwise been as stand alone companies." You get that? The utility expected (and still expects) the ratepayers to foot the bill for the mistakes that Aquila's managers made that drove the company into the ground. The owners (read: shareholders and management) are responsible for those liabilities. If a fast-food franchise manager has a "hand in the till disease" and bankrupts his franchise, do his customers pay higher prices to pay for his mistakes? No. They walk away. So why is it that KCP&L expects us to continue to pay for Aquila's mistakes? We don't have the luxury of walking away from our utilities, so the Missouri Public Service Commission is supposed to be a watchdog for the consumer. But as far back as I can remember, the MPSC has yet to see a utility rate request it didn't like. Yeah, they stand tough and say "No, the utility doesn't get 13%, it only gets 12%." (The rate increase amount requested for former Aquila customers was 13.6%.)
If anyone is still reading this, the last link I'll bore you with is this: http://www.greatplainsenergy.com/investor/NR_May12_09.pdf.
A line extracted from this: "Total annual distributions on the equity units will be at a rate of 12.00%, consisting of interest payments at a rate of 10.00% on the subordinated notes and contract adjustment payments at a rate of 2.00% on the purchase contracts." The buyers of the recent equity units sold by Great Plains are being provided a guaranteed 12% return. Interesting how that just matches the rate of increase KCPL was granted.