Evergy seeks varying base rate increase in Missouri to cover grid, customer service improvements

Evergy filed for its first Missouri rate increase in more than five years last week, submitting a plan to the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) to increase base rate increases of approximately 5.2 percent for Missouri Metro customers and 3.85 percent for Missouri West customers.

Still, the company noted that these rate hikes are lower than they might have been. Savings from a 2018 merger have helped reduce the requested price jumps by more than half.

“Since Evergy was formed in 2018, reducing operational costs to help fund our investments and make our rates more competitive has been one of our primary goals,” Evergy President and CEO David Campbell said. “We’ve exceeded our merger savings targets and are passing on those savings to customers as promised. These savings have enabled us to avoid base rate increases for five years. This year we’re asking to adjust our rates to reflect and recover necessary investments we have made to enhance reliability and sustainability and better serve our customers.”

All electric service rate increases are based on actual costs incurred by Evergy. While operating costs have gone down over the years, and the company has kept any increases over the last decade under the annual rate of inflation, the company notes that current hikes are largely being driven by focused infrastructure improvement meant to enhance the reliability of the system, be it through new technology to reduce restoration times or data analytics for modeling risks and investments more accurately.

Other drivers of the cost increase include efforts to invest in cleaner energy sources and prove additional electric rate options. As of now, Evergy said, approximately half of its energy comes from emissions-free sources.

The filing should be an 11-month process of review, auditing, and evaluation, including public hearings.