Missouri PSC investigating long-term benefits of investor-owned utility membership in RTOs

The Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) opened a new working case this week to consider the long-term benefits of having investor-owned electric utilities as members of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs).

“To determine whether continued membership in an RTO is in the ratepayers’ best interest, the Commission must inquire into the nature of the benefits of RTO membership, the monetized value of those benefits and what time horizons should be employed to compare asset lives (costs) to the values of benefits streams,” the commission said.

Commission staff will investigate the kind of information needed to respond to the PSC’s current and previous orders regarding RTO membership if such information is reasonably and economically available, what could be used to control costs and quicken response if not, costs involved in gathering, analyzing and interpreting this information and whether any clear deal-breaker events could make it unreasonable for investor-owned utilities to remain in an RTO.

While the PSC does not debate that there are likely benefits to RTO membership, it also believes there are long-term costs and commitments involved that are changing with time. Therefore, the commission seeks a better lay of the land and has accordingly directed each Missouri investor-owned utility to participate in a workshop and to cooperate with commission staff over the course of its investigation.

This directive applies to Union Electric Company doing business as Ameren Missouri; Evergy Metro, Inc. d/b/a Evergy Missouri Metro; Evergy Missouri West, Inc. d/b/a Evergy Missouri West; and The Empire District Electric Company d/b/a Liberty. Staff must report its findings by June 30, 2021.