By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – AmerenUE wants to raise its electric rates in Missouri 12% or $251 million a year.
That would amount to about nine additional dollars a month for customers.
AmerenUE CEO and president Tom Voss says the rate increase is needed because of the rising costs of fuel and materials and the need to improve the reliability of the system.
"We know it's not going to be popular, and we know it's going to be a burden on some of our customers, and we wish we wouldn't have to do that," Voss said. "We went long periods without doing it. But this is in response to what we've heard customers say, 'We want you to be investing in the business. We want more reliable service than we've had in the past.'"
Voss says Ameren is working to make the system reliable during severe weather by trimming more trees and placing some power lines underground.
The Missouri Public Service Commission will decide whether to grant the rate increase.
Last year the PSC allowed Ameren UE to raise rates by $43 million, far less than the $350 million the utility requested.