The Missouri Supreme Court issued an opinion this week requiring Joplin-based Empire District Electric Co. (NYSE: EDE) to offer solar rebates to its customers.
In the 5-2 decision delivered
Feb. 10, the court ruled a Missouri legislature-passed bill could not legally pre-empt a statewide ballot initiative - Proposition C - passed by voters in November 2008 by a 66 percent margin. The court’s decision gave plaintiffs Renew Missouri and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment a win in their appeal from the Missouri Public Service Commission against Empire District.
In May 2008, the Missouri General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1181, which stated a utility company could become exempt from solar rebate requirements, if it achieved an amount of renewable energy more than 15 percent of its “total owned fossil-fired generating capacity.” According to the court filing, Empire District was the only utility company to claim eligibility for the exemption.
The legislature passed the bill after Prop C was certified but before it could be voted on by Missourians. According to the court ruling, “the legislature could not pre-emptively negate the effect of the initiative before it had even been voted on by the people and make the people’s later vote a meaningless act.”
Prop C required utility companies to begin offering customers solar rebates in January 2010.
“Empire customers will now enjoy the same economic benefits of solar energy as seen elsewhere in Missouri,” said Heather Navarro of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment in a news release.
The executive director pointed to over $175 million in solar invectives offered since 2010 in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas by Ameren Missouri and Kansas City Power & Light.
In an emailed statement, Empire District spokeswoman Amy Bass said the company is reviewing the court’s decision to determine its next course of action.
“It is our understanding that the decision will not be final for at least 15 days. Thereafter, the matter may return to the Missouri Public Service Commission for further action related to the underlying PSC case,” she said. “This process will likely take several months.”
Bass said it’s not known at this point whether the company will be required to pay out a settlement to customers. A PSC spokesman could not be reached for comment by deadline.
Empire District recently reported 2014 net income of $67.1 million, a 5.8 percent increase. The company serves around 218,000 customers in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, including Greene County, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
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