Ameren requests rate hike

Ameren UE's proposed rate-hike has agitated many Kirksville residents and renewable energy supporters.

Citizens voiced their concerns Tuesday when the Missouri Public Service Commission hosted a public hearing about a proposed price increase.

On July 24, Ameren UE, the St. Louis-based utility cooperation and sole electricity supplier for the Kirksville area, requested a $402 million annual price increase, the equivalent of 18 percent of the current electric rates. About 100 people attended the hearing, led by commissioner Robert Clayton, in the SUB Georgian Room. The other four commissioners were absent, but the commissions staff recorded the testimonies of more than 20 citizens who testified under oath.

Michael Cleary, communications executive for Ameren UE, said Ameren is giving customers what they wanted.

"When we had some major storms in the past few years, we had hearings just like this with people saying they wanted more reliable service," Cleary said. "So we launched the Power On project, increasing our reliability. So we listened to our customers and responded, but these things have a cost."

Cleary said Ameren had to make the expenditures first and then ask for a price raise to get the money back. With the economic situation, Ameren is now left with the large amount of money they invested, but never actually had. Cleary also said the rise in fuel cost has been a factor and pointed out that Ameren had cut back on its own expenditures.

Having accepted the last rise of 9 percent in electricity rates

in March 2009, local residents and some local business owners, made it clear that in the current economic situation and with additional rises on taxes and water bills, a rise of almost 30 percent in electricity rates during the course of one year is unbearable.

"Everybody wants to pay their bills, but I would like to know how other people manage," Kirksville citizen Kristal Douglas said.

Many retirees and social security recipients said they were concerned with how they will raise the additional money because they didn't receive a social security increase last year.

And many of the testifying citizens felt cheated out of the benefits of switching to more energy efficient appliances.

"We buy all those crazy light bulbs, energy efficient air conditioning units and such, and after saving a few bucks a month, UE comes along with a 18 percent increase on top of the eight percent from last year, and the gain is gone," Kirksville citizen Jim LeCompte said.

Dan Hoppe, a worker in the environmental department of a farming company, also felt cheated.

"[Ameren] only wants to compensate for the 25 percent they lost through us trying to save on electric usage [by using more energy efficient appliances]," he said. "The increase negates any effect of our decrease in usage."

Cleary said Ameren has tried saving money in addition to asking for the rate increase.

"We at Ameren target to reduce our expenditures by $150 million over the next couple of years," Cleary said. "We delayed and canceled certain projects, laying off employees as well as having a salary freeze on management salaries."

Ameren also reduced the dividend on its stock in the last year, which was a point of concern for some pensioners at the hearing who had invested in Ameren for their retirement portfolio.

Cleary also said Ameren does not plan to exceed the minimum requirements set by the government on renewable energies. He said renewable energy is significantly more expensive than burning coal, through which Ameren still creates more than 80 percent of its energy.

"I mean, you don't want your percentage of renewable energy to get too high," Cleary said, referring to the price concerns of Ameren customers.

Senior Josh Mantooth said he supported alternative ways of producing electricity.

"Renewable energy is not only possible, it is a necessity," senior Josh Mantooth said. "Coal and oil will only remain cheap through government subsidies."

Mantooth, who lives off campus, said he would be willing to pay a bit more on his bill to ensure that his energy usage is taken from renewable sources.

"Our household of three people uses less than half of what most people here tonight said they were paying," Mantooth said.

The effect on people living on campus, if the request goes through, is unclear. Residence Life declined to comment.