Empire District Electric requests additional rate increase

Joplin-based Empire District Electric Co. (NYSE: EDE) filed an electric rate change request with the Missouri Public Service Commission.

The intent of the increase is to up the company's annual revenues by about 9.2 percent, or $36.5 million, in an effort to to further offset costs incurred to deliver energy to customers, according to a Sept. 28 company news release.

If the rate change is approved, Missouri customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month could expect an increase in their monthly bill of approximately $13.60, the release said.

The move follows a late-August MPSC-approved agreement between Empire District and the Office of the Public Counsel, allowing the company to increase its electric rates for Missouri customers. The pass allowed an increase of about $13.03 per month to the bills of customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of energy, according to Springfield Business Journal coverage.

The newest rate increase was placed alongside a continuation request for the Fuel Adjustment Clause, previously approved by the MPSC, which allows the company to increase or decrease electric rates twice each year June 1 and Dec. 1.

"We are seeking new rates to begin recovery of the costs associated with the completion of Iatan 2, an 850-megawatt, high efficiency coal-fired generating plant located in Platte County,"  Bill Gipson, president and CEO, said in the release. "The Iatan 2 unit, along with several other significant system improvements, was included in Empire’s long-term energy and regulatory plan approved by the MPSC in August 2005."

Shares of Empire stock were trading at $20.06 as of 8:30 a.m. Sept. 30. Empire's 52-week range is $17.57 to $20.41.[[In-content Ad]]