ST. LOUIS — Energy company Ameren Missouri has requested to increase customer rates in 2022 to cover billions of dollars invested in electric grid upgrades and new wind generation facilities.
The company said in a filing last week with the state regulator Missouri Public Service Commission that it wants to raise electric rate revenues by $309 million a year, an increase of 12%, the Post-Dispatch reported.
The proposal would raise bills for an average residential customer by about $12 a month.
The company also filed a request to increase rates for its 135,000 Missouri natural gas customers to net another $9.4 million in revenues, a $4 monthly increase for residential consumers. The hike would enable Ameren to upgrade natural gas system reliability and resiliency, the company said.
Ameren said it anticipates the new rates to go into effect early next year.
The utility says the rate hikes are justified by a range of investments, including recent moves to bolster the reliability and resilience of the area’s electric grid and to acquire wind farms.
Ameren has upgraded substations and power lines, strengthened utility poles and installed about 133,000 digital smart meters that provide customers and Ameren with usage information. The company has also recently acquired two northern Missouri wind farms for a combined $1.2 billion.
Ameren Missouri customers have had rates drop in recent years, including two electric base rate decreases since 2017 and a natural gas rate decrease in 2019. Electric rates today are 8.3% lower than they were in 2017, the company reported.