Evergy seeking utility rate increase for 2025

By Cameron Montemayor

Evergy customers in St. Joseph and surrounding cities could potentially see a jump in their monthly electric bills in 2025.

Evergy is requesting an increase to base rates for Evergy Missouri West customers by about 13.42%, which equates to a roughly $17 a month increase, or $204 annually.

Evergy filed the request with the Missouri Public Service Commission on Feb. 2, 2024, to implement the rate increase, which if approved, would take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

The hearing began with a question-and-answer session conducted by PSC staff, followed by testimony from the public.

The rate increase would impact the Evergy Missouri West area that serves more than 340,000 customers across St. Joseph, Liberty, Platte City, Harrisonville, and Warrensburg, among other cities.

If approved, the increase would be the second rate change implemented by the utility company in the last two years after time-based rate plans were implemented in 2023. Time-based plans charge a lower price for energy most of the day, during off-peak hours, but a higher price for energy a few hours a day, during the peak times of 4 to 8 p.m.

Evergy has not requested structural changes to the time-based rate plans that were implemented in 2023 as part of the latest proposal.

In filing the request, Evergy cited the need to recover investments made to support generation capacity and improve the grid in order to provide reliable power. Their request also includes a 0.57% increase to account for increased fuel costs.

According to Evergy data, since 2017, Evergy Missouri rates have increased by about 2.5% compared to average regional state rates, which have increased by 11% over that same period.

“We are investing strategically to ensure customers have reliable, affordable energy,” Evergy President and Chief Executive Officer David Campbell said in a statement. “Our focus continues to be on more efficiently running the business, which despite this period of record inflation has resulted in a reduced increase ask for our customers. While most area states have seen electricity costs increase about 11% over the past six years, Evergy’s prices have remained regionally competitive and even declined in some areas.”

Reliability improvements financed by the rate increase include:

Replacing aging infrastructure

Improving the ability to withstand more severe weather

Adding technologies that better outage performance and improve our predictive maintenance capabilities

Creating more power (or generation capacity) for customers.

Reduce exposure to big swings in pricing for electricity purchased from the market

The cost to purchase Dogwood Energy Center to meet the growing needs of Missouri West customers

Monday’s hearing was one of five public hearings scheduled between July 29 and Aug. 1. Lee’s Summit and Sedalia are also scheduled for in-person public hearings on July 30 and July 31. Remaining hearings will be limited to virtual (call-in) sessions.

The public hearings are part of an 11-month process that began in February, where regulators are required to review, audit and evaluate the request to ensure the resulting prices reflect the actual cost of serving Evergy Missouri West customers.

Information on upcoming public hearings can be found at www.evergy.com/manage-account/rate-information-link/energy-value/missouri-west-rate-review.