The Kansas Corporation Commission recently approved a rate increase for Midwest Energy, an electricity and natural gas supplier to approximately 90,000 Kansas residents.

The average increase residential customers can expect is about 13.6 percent, said Bob Helm, Manager of Corporate Communications for Midwest Energy.

“All of the prices are going up because the price just to do business is going up,” Helm told KansasLiberty.

Helm said the increase in building materials such as wood poles, copper, steel, and transformers caused an increase in the price of energy.

According to Associated Press reports, customers south of Great Bend can expect an increase of 16.2 percent while customers north and west of of the city can expect a rise of 13.6 percent.

Helm said the rate increase will fluctuate in different areas of Kansas because Midwest Energy is trying to create more equal rates among its customers and currently some Midwest Energy customers pay a more or less than others depending on location.

“We are just trying to get everything in the same ball park,” Helm said.

Generally the Kansas Corporation Commission does not regulate co-ops, but because Midwest Energy serves more than 15,000 customers it falls under the KCC’s jurisdiction.

Rosemary Foreman, KCC public information officer, told Kansas Liberty the decision to increase rates was the result of a rate case filed by the utility.

“After a comprehensive audit and investigation the commission found that based on the facts and the records provided by the company and staff the increase was indeed necessary,” Foreman said.

Foreman said there is no guideline of when companies can file rate cases but that they generally decided to do so every 3-5 years.

“Midwest had not been in for a rate case for some time so we weren’t surprised they filed,” she said. “All the companies are having to do a lot of upgrading with plant equipment so obviously that costs money and they need to cover those expenses but there is no trend with rising rates there is just a host of reasons.”

Mary Lampe, St. Francis city clerk, said the city government had already factored in the rising price of energy by increasing the 2009 fiscal budget by approximately 12 percent.

Lampe said while she was concerned about the rising rates, she did not think it would change much for St. Francis.

“I think it will increase the cost of living but if all the areas are raising the same it shouldn’t make much difference to people where they live,” she said.

Brenda Herrman, director of public works for Hays, said while Hays had experienced several rate increases in the past this particular increase seemed larger than the others.

“This was a little higher than we anticipated but we just have to take that into account when we make our budget,” she said. “When you run a business you understand how there are increases going up all the way across the board and while it is never pleasant it is just something you have to adjust to.”

Rep. Vaughn Flora, D-Topeka, said he thought the energy price increases were making it difficult for residents to stay on their budgets and thought energy conservation should be explored to help lower the rate.

“The cheapest and easiest kind of relief we can have with this is to increase the energy efficiency in our homes and I would like to see the utility companies encourage people to do that and reward them when they do,” he said. “There are things that can be done right now that would make a big difference.”

Gregory Ehrendreich, policy associate for the Midwest energy efficiency alliance, also said energy conservation could make a substantial difference for energy prices.

“Midwestern states have about a 1.4 to 2 percent annual growth rate and to knock a percent off that is our general goal but we would love to see the growth curve go flat or work in the opposite direction,” Ehrendreich told Kansas Liberty.  

Ehrendreich said most of the Midwestern states had not been exploring many energy efficiency options.

“The Midwest is in sore need of catching up in a lot of areas in energy efficiency and there is a lot of potential there because simply a lot has not been done.”

- Holly Smith

The Week in Review