Missouri House of Representatives approves Senate Bill 4

Bipartisan support sends bill to governor's desk for consideration

Prior to the start of the legislative spring break, the members of the Missouri House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 4 by a 96-44 vote. A wide-ranging utility bill, the legislation includes language establishing the Power Predictability and Reliability Act. This measure aims to reduce the disincentives energy companies face when investing in new, on-demand natural gas power plants and accelerate their deployment.

The members of the Missouri House of Representatives debate SB 4. Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel/House Communications.

During a presentation to the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) in August, the Missouri Department of Economic Development reported several large-scale, business-related projects in its planning pipeline requiring more than a gigawatt of power each. According to the department, these projects represent the potential of thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars of investment in the Show-Me State.

From Ameren Missouri's perspective, the company has seen the average power demand climb sharply for new economic development projects considering a location in their service territory. In 2019, the power needs of the average economic development project size were 3.2 MW. Today, the average project considering Ameren Missouri's service territory needs more than 180 MW of power.

"With energy usage trends skyrocketing throughout the country, new power plants are critical to not only safeguarding Missourians access to reliable electricity but to maintaining the state's status as an attractive place to do business," said Warren Wood, vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs for Ameren Missouri. "In addition to ensuring Missourians continue to have access to reliable energy, Senate Bill 4 is designed to provide a level of regulatory certainty for the state's electric companies as they invest millions, even billions, of dollars in new power generation."

In addition to the Power Predictability and Reliability Act, SB 4 includes more than 20 measures, many of them involving electric, natural gas and water utilities. In addition to reforms requested by the PSC, the legislation contains numerous consumer protection measures. Under SB 4, the PSC and the Office of Public Counsel, the state's official consumer advocate, will receive additional funding for their respective organizations. The approved legislation also gives the PSC the ability to set a special electric rate for qualifying customers experiencing a high utility burden.

"Senate Bill 4 includes several measures designed to ensure our state has the reliable, on-demand power resources it needs to meet the challenges of today and the opportunities of tomorrow," said Rep. Josh Hurlbert, R-Smithville, and House sponsor of the legislation. "In addition to helping our state's most vulnerable, it includes several commonsense reforms designed to protect consumers."

After receiving bipartisan approval from the Missouri House, the legislation now sits on the governor's desk for his consideration.