State bill extending Ameren Missouri’s Smart Energy Plan slated to become law

Missouri Senate Bill (SB) 756, which will extend and expand upon landmark energy policy legislation approved in 2018 by the Missouri General Assembly that enabled Ameren Missouri’s Smart Energy Plan, now sits on the governor’s desk to be signed into law. 

The State House last week voted 99-41 to approve SB 756 as part of the broader SB 745 omnibus package, a wide-ranging bill that also will modify numerous provisions related to utilities, including the creation of two task forces — one for net metering, the other for solar energy systems — as well as allowing utilities to apply for rate adjustments with the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) outside of the three-year general rate cycle. 

Following approval by the House, SB 745 returned to the Missouri Senate, which quickly passed the bill with a 28-4 vote. It now heads to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk for consideration.

Ameren Missouri Vice President of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Warren Wood called the House-approved measure “tremendous news for Ameren Missouri customers and the communities we serve.”

Wood told Daily Energy Insider that the energy grid investments Ameren Missouri has made since the original Smart Energy Plan legislation passed in 2018 are providing customers with improved reliability, fewer power outages, and shorter outages when they do occur. 

“The rate caps and efficiencies we are building into our system also provide more stable and predictable energy costs, with rates well below the Midwest and national averages,” explained Wood. “We applaud the efforts in the Missouri Legislature to extend and expand these customer benefits by passing SB 745.”

Once signed into law, Wood noted that the legislation will ensure that grid modernization projects and economic development programs can continue to improve reliability and boost vitality in the communities served by Ameren, “providing Missourians with a smart, secure and stable energy future.” 

Under Ameren’s Smart Energy Plan, the utility is specifically investing in smart technology — including outage detection and restoration switches — stronger poles, and upgraded energy infrastructure that already has helped the utility deliver up to a 40-percent improvement in reliability. And customers will continue to see improvements as more projects are completed across Ameren Missouri’s 24,000-square-mile system, according to the utility.

The 2018 legislation enabling the plan was slated to sunset on Dec. 31, 2023. Both SB 756 and its companion bill, HB 1734, proposed extending that date for 10 more years, or, if approved by the Missouri PSC, the date could be extended even further.

Additionally, as part of the approved SB 745, the Economic Development Incentive (EDI) that is also a part of the Smart Energy Plan will be strengthened to allow qualified customers to receive a discount on their new electric energy rates for several years, while also permitting more large businesses to utilize the EDI discount, according to Ameren Missouri.

The larger SB 745 also includes several other energy-related provisions from different pieces of state legislation, such as a Utility Property Tax Tracker, which allows utilities to more quickly account for their property tax rate adjustments, and extended use of the Plant in Service Accounting (PISA) measures, which were approved in 2018 but will still require a review by the Missouri PSC to remain in use after 2028. Both items were part of HB 1734.

The new law also will dictate that Homeowner Associations cannot ban solar panels; that municipal utility customers’ records will be closed records under the state’s Sunshine Law; and permits securitization, a process by which utility companies may issue bonds to offset the cost of switching from coal-based power generation to clean energy, among other provisions.