OFFICE OF PUBLIC COUNSEL OPPOSING EVERGY’S PROPOSED RATE HIKE

A state agency is voicing opposition to a rate increase sought by Evergy Missouri West.

The Office of Public Counsel is expressing several issues with the utility’s proposal to increase their customers’ base rate by 14 to 17 percent to cover increased costs in power generation and transmission. Senior Counsel John Clizer says the OPC objects to Evergy seeking to recoup more costs associated with a power plant they own in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

[audio mp3="https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/1333/2024/08/12103743/kh-240809-clizerevergycase1.mp3"]

Evergy Missouri West recently purchased a 22-percent interest in a natural gas plant near Pleasant Hill. Clizer also reflected on concerns raised at a public hearing last month in Sedalia that not every Evergy customer received enough notice about the opportunity to comment on the proposal.

[audio mp3="https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/1333/2024/08/12103742/kh-240809-clizerevergycase2.mp3"]

Local public hearings also took place in Lee’s Summit and St Joseph, as well as online via Webex. Clizer says that the Public Service Commission will host an evidentiary hearing in October. He encourages Evergy Missouri West customers, which include Johnson, Pettis, western Carroll, and portions of Lafayette counties, to submit comments to either the PSC directly or through the Office of Public Counsel .