Public hearing scheduled in Joplin on Empire District Electric rate increase request

(From the Public Service Commission)

The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold local public hearings in February in an electric rate case filed by The Empire District Electric Company (Empire). The local public hearing schedule appears below.

February 3—Bolivar. Comfort Inn, Meeting Room, 2451 Tower Drive. A PSC Staff public information/question and answer session starts at noon with the Commission receiving testimony from the public starting at 12:30 p.m.

February 3—Joplin. Missouri Southern State University, Plaster Hall-Cornell Auditorium, 3950 E. Newman Road. A PSC Staff public information/question and answer session starts at 6:00 p.m. with the Commission receiving testimony from the public starting at 6:30 p.m.

February 4—Branson. City of Branson, Council Chambers, 110 W. Maddux, Ste. 210. A PSC Staff public information/question and answer session starts at noon with the Commission receiving testimony from the public starting at 12:30 p.m.

These local public hearings will be held in facilities that meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Any person who needs additional accommodations to participate in these hearings should call the Public Service Commission’s hotline at 1-800-392-4211 (voice) or Relay Missouri at 711 before the hearings.

If you are unable to attend a local public hearing and wish to make written comments or secure additional information, you may contact the Office of the Public Counsel, P.O. Box 2230, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, telephone (866) 922-2959 email opcservice@opc.mo.gov or the Missouri Public Service Commission Staff, P.O. Box 360, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, telephone 1-800-392-4211, email pscinfo@psc.mo.gov . The Office of the Public Counsel is a separate state agency that represents the general public in matters before the Commission.

Formal evidentiary hearings in this case are scheduled April 14-17, 2020 and April 20-22, 2020. These hearings will be held in Jefferson City at the Governor Office Building, Room 310, 200 Madison Street.

On August 14, 2019, Empire filed an electric rate case with the Public Service Commission seeking to increase annual electric revenues by approximately $26.5 million. According to the filing, an average residential customer using 1,000 kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity a month would see electric rates increase by approximately $7.85 a month.