Missouri Senate moves utility overhaul to formal calendar after debate on smart‑meter opt‑outs, rate tools and senior discounts

The Missouri Senate advanced a broad utility bill, Senate Bill 4, to the formal calendar after a day of debate and several roll‑call votes that split senators over how to balance consumer protections with new financing tools for electric, gas and water utilities.

Senate leaders adopted two amendments, including language to grandfather certain solar projects and technical cleanup on cold‑ and hot‑weather shutoff rules, and rejected two other amendments: one that would have required a 10% discount for customers 60 and older in parts of the state served by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, and another that would have struck a set of provisions allowing utilities to use a future test year for rate review. The sponsor moved to lay the substitute on the formal calendar for later consideration.

The bill is substantial and touches multiple policy areas regulators oversee. Key provisions discussed on the floor would: (1) create statutory language allowing residential customers to opt out of smart meters with capped fees, (2) extend plant‑in‑service accounting (PISA) and related tools for certain generation investments including gas turbines, (3) permit water and gas utilities to use a future test year when asking the Public Service Commission to include new plant in rates, and (4) change how the Office of Public Counsel (OPC) is funded.

Senator from the 20 Fourth, who explained the smart‑meter language to the chamber,…