By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri American Water customers will see a rate increase in their monthly bill.
The Missouri Public Service Commission signed off on a rate settlement to allow Missouri American to recoup nearly $770 million in water and wastewater system improvements made between January of 2021 to May of 2023.
Most residential customers, according to Missouri American, will see an increase of about $5 to $7 in their monthly bill. Sewer bills will rise between a bit less than $1 to $7 monthly. The new rates take effect at the end of the month.
The PSC agreed to a settlement reached among PSC staff, the Office of the Public Counsel, the Midwest Energy Consumers Group, the City of St. Joseph, and Consumer’s Council of Missouri.
“We are pleased the Missouri Public Service Commission approved the settlement, which was reached after working diligently with the parties to balance affordability with system investments,” said Missouri American President Rich Svindland in a written statement released by the utility. “The settlement allows us to recover prudent investments in our treatment plants and pipelines that benefit customers by enhancing service, reliability, resiliency and water quality.”
Missouri American filed for the rate increase in July of last year.
The PSC also approved customer assistance funding.
“While a water bill is typically one of the lowest utility bills, we understand it’s not the only bill that customers pay,” said Svindland. “We are proud to continue our support for our H2O Help to Others customer assistance program and offer flexible options like installment plans and budget billing, and to help customers facing especially difficult circumstances like rehousing or a critical event.”
Information on customer assistance programs can be found at missouriamwater.com > Customer Service and Billing > Payment Assistance Options. Customers in need are also encouraged to apply for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program, which is a temporary federal program that offers grants up to $750 to help with water and/or wastewater bills.