Whenever a utility declares it wants to recover investments made in generation capacity, those are words exchanged for “rate hike.”
It’s what Evergy, Inc. did recently in filing a request and supporting documentation with the Missouri Public Service Commission. The request covers Evergy’s 340,000 custsomers in St. Joseph, Liberty, Platte City and elsewhere in western Missouri.
The majority of the Kansas City Metropolitan region is not in the Missouri West service area. Most Kansas City Metropolitan customers are in the Missouri Metro service area. Evergy is not asking for any changes to base rates in its Missouri Metro service area.
As part of the filing, Evergy is requesting to increase base rates for Evergy Missouri West customers by about $104 million, or 13.42% percent, excluding fuel. To justify any price increase, Evergy must demonstrate that the costs were warranted and prudent. The request also includes a 0.57% increase to account for increased fuel costs. Evergy has not requested structural changes to the time-based rate plans that were implemented in 2023.
The filing begins an 11-month process where regulators and interveners will review, audit and evaluate the request to ensure the resulting prices reflect the actual cost of serving Evergy Missouri West customers. The process will include public hearings later in the year, which are yet to be scheduled. If approved, new rates will become effective on January 1, 2025.
“We are investing strategically to ensure customers have reliable, affordable energy,” said Evergy President and Chief Executive Officer David Campbell.
Evergy’s request includes the recovery of investments related to two natural gas plants to help ensure Evergy Missouri West has sufficient generation capacity for customers and to reduce Missouri West’s exposure to market price volatility for electricity purchased from the market.