MOScout Weekender: Evergy Seeks Rate Hike - Hallway on Rules Changes - Who Won the Week and more…

Evergy Seeks Rate Hike

From the press release: In its application filed today with the Missouri Public Service Commission, Evergy has requested to increase rates by 14.9%, or $137.9 million. If approved, new rates would be effective in January 2027. The prices customers pay for electric service are calculated based on actual costs the company incurred and investments the company has made.

The press release also notes…

·       This is the first rate increase request for Evergy Missouri Metro in four years.

·       Over the last eight years, electricity prices have decreased 2.2% for Evergy Missouri Metro customers.

·       Including this rate request, Evergy Missouri Metro electricity prices will have increased well below the level of inflation over nine years.

To combat misinformation about what’s driving the rate increase, the press release explains…

·       This rate request is NOT driven by new data centers choosing to locate in the Kansas City region.  As currently filed, no costs to serve data centers are included in this case.

·       Evergy reduced its proposed rate request by $25 million based on expected revenue from new large data center operations [Google] in 2026.

And one source adds that last year’s SB 4 “accounts for less than 85 cents/month.  And it will ultimately result in a savings for customers by paying interest off now, instead of letting it continue to grow and paying interest on top of interest.”

Remington/MOScout Poll

No poll this week.

MOScout’s Hallway Index:

I asked lobbyists, “Is the change in Senate rules significant? 21 replies…

RESULTS

1. Yes, it could significantly help the minority party… 52.4%

2. No, it will not significantly help the minority party... 28.6%

3. Not sure… 19.0%

Sample of Comments

·       It will not impact the minority party but it will allow Senators more time to read bills coming back from the House, though most will not take advantage of that opportunity.

·       I think the more important change is the laying CCRs on the table for a day. That is just responsible good government glad someone is looking out for Missourians. This lessens the ability of bad ideas to be snuck in at the last minute.

·       Dems get to message they held the line. Republicans move the senate forward. This is a nothing burger.

·       It’s not about helping one party over the other. It’s about producing better legislative products. And this will help.

·       18 signatures used to be the norm. So I don’t think it changes much other than forcing Rs to be more aligned. The PQ change is just going to exacerbate the outside voices from the right to sign the motion. This has already started to happen over the last few years so this is going to be more frustrating for “on the fence” Rs.

·       It certainly helps the minority party on an issue that struggles to get to 18, but will have to wait and see how often the tactic is used and what issues are the targets. Practically speaking, having the 18 sign seems to make sense and makes the nuclear option a little less likely to be used.

·       It demonstrates that the Republican senators don’t have the will to operate like the super majority that voters have made them to be. As long as the Democrats think that they’re feared, they’ll stick with their current playbook.

·       Yes, but not necessarily to help the minority party. The rule change for bills with House amendments will kill a few bills each year. Those are mostly non-partisan bills.

·       The majority is moving more and more to a situation where rules do not matter, until rank and file majority members realize this and do something about it, it does not matter what is in the rule book because leadership will just do whatever they want when the situation arises.

·       It could if each those additional Senators now needed on the PQ form have a demand of the ProTem in exchange for their signature.

·       Won't significantly help, but it's a win of their own making for the minority party. Those have been pretty rare in JC.

Who Won the Week?

The Senate – The upper chamber moves forward after a few minor Rules changes.

David Gregory – The steady stream of MFR PAC fundraising shows support for him as the point person for the “Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act.”

Missouri consumers – Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she’s beefing up the consumer protection unit, asking for 11 new full-time employees in the next budget.

Opponents of the VLT bill – The revelation that “the Feds” are investigating VLTs for money laundering, among other issues, could throw a cloud over the issue.

Find a downloadable version here.

eMailbag

In regards to data centers being a "gold rush" for rural schools, I would say "not so fast." Many rural areas are served by rural electric cooperatives, who have neither the generational capacity or transmission infrastructure to serve data centers. RECs have failed to invest in scaling up for these sorts of customers and it is unlikely several school districts will see any increased revenues as a result.

Gubby Appts

Governor Mike Kehoe made several appointments…

·       Kathy Smith was appointed to the Missouri Charter Public School Commission.

·       Charles Pritchard and Troy Williams were appointed to the Missouri Veterans Commission.

·       Jason Choate, Timothy Ganz, Frank Offutt, and Donald Summers Jr. were appointed to the Safe Drinking Water Commission.

·       Ashley Hoselton was appointed as the Sullivan County Public Administrator.

$5K+ Contributions

KC Forward Progress - $10,000 from HNTB Corporation.

Respect MO Voters Campaign - $40,000 from Carol Lippman.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Brandt Shields. 

Sunday: Terry Swinger.