Electric rates will be increasing for customers of Kansas City Power & Light.
The Missouri Public Service Commission reached a settlement Wednesday on KCP&L’s request for more income to pay for environmental upgrades at its coal-fired power plants, including Iatan in Platte County.
The final agreement approves an 11.85 percent hike. That amounts to $8.58 more per month for the average customer. KCP&L figures the average customer uses 700 kilowatt hours in the winter and 1,200 in the summer, said Katie McDonald, company spokeswoman.
KCP&L had been seeking a 13.6 percent increase, which would have increased annual revenues by $17.1 million. The approved rate will raise $15 million in annual revenues.
The settlement was unusual because all the parties involved, including the Office of the Public Counsel representing ratepayers as well as industrial users, agreed to it, said Robert Clayton, presiding commissioner.
“We really have no choice but to implement this,” Mr. Clayton said.
The money will go directly toward pollution control equipment, he said.
Mike Chesser, KCP&L chief executive officer, said it also will allow the company to meet future federal environmental mandates.
“We recognize that this is a challenging time to ask customers to pay more for electricity, and we didn’t make this decision lightly,” he said.
At a public hearing in St. Joseph, several residents testified that higher electric rates would put a heavy burden on a community already coping with job losses during the recession.
“The increased cost of all utilities, along with the recent rise in food costs, gasoline prices and health care costs, have had an effect on customers’ ability to keep current on their bills,” the commission noted in its final statement.
The new rates take effect Sept. 1.
The increase applies to customers in Northwest Missouri in the area formerly served by St. Joseph Light & Power. The commission also approved increases for Kansas City customers and industrial steam users.
The stock of Great Plains Energy, the holding company for KCP&L, closed Wednesday at $15.52, up 16 cents.
Susan Mires can be reached at susanm@npgco.com.