ST.
LOUIS, Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Late
yesterday, Spire Missouri filed a rate case with the Missouri
Public Service Commission (PSC) to recover infrastructure and
technology upgrade investments made to better serve customers.
"We're committed to safely delivering reliable and efficient
natural gas service to more than 1.2 million homes and businesses
in Missouri and doing so in the
most affordable way for our customers," said Steve Mills, Spire Missouri president. "We want
our customers to know that even with this request, they will see
bills that are slightly lower or unchanged compared to 2024."
A customer bill is largely made up of two components – Spire's
delivery charge and the cost of the natural gas itself. While the
delivery charge portion of a customer's bill – which covers the
cost of the service Spire provides to safely deliver natural gas to
a home or business – is expected to increase under Spire's request,
the cost of natural gas seen on customer bills has decreased
significantly compared to 2024. Including this decrease to natural
gas costs, when new delivery rates take effect in Fall 2025,
overall customer bills are expected to be lower or unchanged
compared to the last year, assuming current natural gas market
conditions.
What is Spire requesting?
During rate cases, the PSC examines the value of services
customers have received from their utilities and establishes rates
based on already incurred costs. A typical timeframe of rate case
approval with the PSC is eleven months from the time of filing.
Should Spire's request be approved by the PSC, the average
residential monthly bill for customers across Missouri are expected to increase next fall by
approximately $17, or roughly 16%,
compared to current rates, assuming current natural gas market
conditions.
Since its last rate case was completed in 2022, Spire has
continued to make investments in its delivery system and technology
to benefit customers. For example:
- Spire has invested nearly $1
billion to maintain and modernize service infrastructure, in
turn reducing emissions and improving the safety of its
distribution system.
- New infrastructure means lower maintenance costs and improved
reliability and service for years to come. It will also ensure that
Missouri has the advanced energy
infrastructure to fuel economic growth and job creation.
- During FY24, Spire was part of securing 37 publicly announced
economic development wins in Missouri, representing an investment of nearly
$3.7 billion in the state economy and
resulting in the creation of more than 4,000 jobs. Access to
natural gas played a key role in securing many of these
projects.
- Spire continues the rollout of advanced metering technology for
its customers across Missouri. The
upgrade offers both enhanced safety features and, once fully
implemented, improved insights into monthly energy usage.
The filing addresses increased costs experienced in recent years
as Spire was not immune to impacts from inflation and higher
interest rates that impacted consumers and businesses across the
country.
With this filing, Spire hopes to create one Spire Missouri
service territory, providing customers consistent rates across the
state and a streamlining of operations, ultimately translating to
efficiencies for customers and for Spire. Spire is also requesting
an improved mechanism to mitigate the impacts of changes in weather
and the effects of conservation on customer usage, as allowed under
Missouri law.
For more information, visit spireenergy.com/rate-case.
About Spire
At Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR) we believe energy exists to help make
people's lives better. It's a simple idea, but one that's at the
heart of our company. Every day we serve 1.7 million homes and
businesses making us one of the largest publicly traded natural gas
companies in the country. We help families and business owners fuel
their daily lives through our gas utilities serving Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. Our natural gas-related businesses
include Spire Marketing and Spire Midstream. We are committed to
transforming our business through growing organically, investing in
infrastructure, and advancing through innovation. Learn more at
SpireEnergy.com.
Investor Contact:
Megan L. McPhail
314-309-6563
Megan.McPhail@SpireEnergy.com
Media Contact:
Jason Merrill
314-342-3300
Jason.Merrill@SpireEnergy.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spire-missouri-files-rate-case-to-recover-infrastructure-and-technology-investments-302315897.html
SOURCE Spire Inc.