The Independence City Council on Oct. 6 adopted an ordinance (25-088) increasing the customer charge for Independence Power & Light (IPL) customers, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Under the ordinance, residential customer charges for specified residential rate classes (MR1 and MR5) will rise by $5, and selected commercial/industrial classes will see a $10 increase. The council considered an amendment that would have reduced the residential increase from $5 to $3.90 (moving the eventual total to $13.90 instead of $15), but the amendment failed on a 5-2 vote and the main ordinance passed 7-0.

Council members and IPL management explained the rationale: the customer charge covers fixed operating and maintenance costs (transformer maintenance, line repairs, rolling trucks and personnel) that do not vary with customer usage. IPL leadership said the utility’s customer-charge peers (examples cited included other regional utilities) have higher fixed charges, and increasing the charge allows IPL to address infrastructure, maintenance and workforce needs without as much volatility in energy‑use-based rates.

Opponents of the amendment said the rate increase is necessary to modernize the utility and avoid deferred maintenance; proponents of a smaller increase argued for a more modest step and additional study. IPL staff said lowering the increase would reduce available funds for capital projects by roughly a half‑million dollars in the first year, slowing planned improvements.

The ordinance passed unanimously on second reading; the clerk recorded a 7-0 vote. Staff will implement the new customer charges beginning with January 2026 bills and continue work on long‑term utility financial planning.