ST. LOUIS – Recent rate hikes from two St. Louis-area utility providers, Ameren and Spire, are outpacing inflation in Missouri, according to new research from a Missouri consumer advocacy group.

The Consumer Council of Missouri released a report earlier this month that tracked changes to Ameren and Spire bills since 2020. In some cases, monthly bill costs for the average customer have doubled over the last four years, according to the report.

The report revealed the following trends:

• The average Ameren summer residential bill rose by 19.56% from 2020 to 2023.
• The average Ameren winter residential bill rose by 21.05% from 2020 to 2023.
• The average Spire East customer (St. Louis region) has noticed a 62% increase in the winter bill since the 2020-21 winter season.
• The average Spire West customer (Kansas City region) has noticed a 109% increase in the winter bill since the 2020-21 winter season.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator , the nationwide economy rate from January 2020 to December 2023 is around 18.91%.

The report says Ameren’s bill increases are more due to funding infrastructure improvements than base fuel charges. The electric provider has also proposed rate increases this year that it claims  are necessary to ensure cleaner electricity, strengthen grids and recover costs of major electric system upgrades.

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The report says Missouri Spire’s purchase gas adjustment rider, the mechanism the utility
uses to recover commodity costs, has increased over the last three years. The natural gas provider moved forward with higher bills after an unprecedented cold stretch in 2021. Spire also authorized rate adjustments based on weather variations just last year.

According to the Consumer Council of Missouri, the rate hikes and inflation rates are below the rate of weekly wage increase in Missouri of 16%, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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