Public hearings set for Missouri-American Water's 34 percent rate increase request

(From the Missouri Public Service Commission)

-The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold local public hearings starting on October 28, 2024, to receive customer comment in water and sewer rate cases filed by Missouri-American Water Company (MAWC). 

There will be in-person and virtual local public hearings conducted by the Public Service Commission. The local public hearing schedule appears below.

October 28—Branson. Branson City Hall, City Council Chambers, 110 West Maddux St.
The hearing starts at 6:00 p.m., beginning with a public information/question-and-answer session followed by the Commission receiving testimony from the public.
November 4—Joplin. Missouri Southern State University, Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center, Cornell Auditorium, 3950 Newman Road.
The hearing starts at 6:00 p.m., beginning with a public information/question-and-answer session followed by the Commission receiving testimony from the public.
November 6—Virtual Local Public Hearings start at Noon and 6 p.m. See further details below**
November 7—St. Joseph. St. Joseph City Hall, City Council Chambers, 1100 Frederick Avenue.
The hearing starts at 6:00 p.m., beginning with a public information/question-and-answer session followed by the Commission receiving testimony from the public.
November 12—St. Louis. University of Missouri-St. Louis, Millennium Student Center, Century Room C, 17 Arnold B. Grobman Dr.
The hearing starts at 6 p.m., beginning with a public information/question-and-answer session followed by the Commission receiving testimony from the public.
November 13—Jefferson City. Governor Office Building, Room 310, 200 Madison St.
The hearing starts at 6:00 p.m. beginning with a public information/question-and-answer session followed by the Commission receiving testimony from the public.

**To attend a virtual local public hearing by telephone, at the time of the virtual hearing, call toll free 1-855-718-6621, listen to the prompt and enter the meeting number/access code (2632 327 4117 for the November 6 Noon hearing); or (2634 044 0310 for the November 6 hearing at 6 p.m.); followed by # (pound/hashtag symbol). If prompted for a password, enter 0320.

To attend a virtual local public hearing by WebEx video (internet), visit the website www.webex.com. You can also download the Cisco WebEx meetings application on your mobile device, laptop, desktop or tablet prior to the hearing and join the meeting at the hearing time by entering the corresponding meeting number/access code and password listed above.

The Commission has scheduled seven local public hearings. Any person may comment at any of the hearings, but are encouraged to attend the hearing corresponding to the location nearest their service area for the most relevant information. In order to ensure broad participation and the ability for every citizen to offer comments, comments may be time-limited.

 
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 or TDD Hotline at 1-800-829-7541 before the hearings.

To facilitate an orderly presentation that can be preserved for the record, members of the public who wish to participate in the virtual hearings should register by sending their first and last name, phone number, email address and the hearing they wish to attend to pscinfo@psc.mo.gov or by calling 1-800-392-4211 by 5:00 p.m. the day before the hearing.

If you are unable to attend a local public hearing and wish to make written comments, you may contact the Missouri Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 360, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, or by using the Commission’s electronic filing system (EFIS) at https://psc.mo.gov/General/Submit_Comments. From this webpage, click on “Submit Comments” under the heading “Submit Comments in Writing”. When submitting comments, please reference File No. WR-2024-0320.

In addition, you may also provide comments or request additional information from the Office of the Public Counsel (Governor Office Building, 200 Madison Street, Suite 650, P.O. Box 2230, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-2230, telephone 1-866-922-2959 (toll free) or 573-751-4857, email opcservice@opc.mo.gov). The Office of the Public Counsel is a separate state agency that represents the general public in matters before the Commission.

On July 1, 2024, MAWC filed water and sewer rate cases with the Missouri Public Service Commission seeking to increase current annual water and sewer revenues by approximately $166.6 million (34.4%).
MAWC provides water service to approximately 484,000 customers in Missouri. It also provides sewer service to approximately 24,000 customers in the state.