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, told colleagues the bill adds “a section of the statute that will allow consumers who have concerns about smart meters … to be able to opt out of that system,” and that the substitute limits opt‑out costs: “there's a maximum of a $15 monthly fee and a maximum of a $125 one‑time fee to have your smart meter removed,” she said. She also said the bill includes liability language intended to make clear homeowners are responsible for injuries sustained while working on their own meters.

Senator from Cass described additions aimed at protecting consumers where very large energy users — notably data centers — locate in the state. “What this amendment would do, it would require those massive users of energy would have to put forth a plan of how they plan to pay and make sure they're paying their fair share and not passing it on to the consumer,” the senator said.

On funding for the Office of Public Counsel — the state agency that represents utility customers before the Public Service Commission — the substitute raises funding in the near term from the historic figure of $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 for the current year and then shifts ongoing funding to a utilities assessment rather than continuing to rely on general revenue. The bill also authorizes an increase in the PSC assessment rate that funds PSC operations; senators discussed the current assessment level (about 0.035) and referenced an increase toward approximately 0.05 in the legislative language.

Provisions expanding PISA and adding a future test year generated the most sustained floor debate. Supporters said the tools give utilities and regulators a predictable process to approve large, long‑lived investments — and that the Public Service Commission and consumer advocates will still have opportunities to contest prudency and costs. Opponents warned the mechanics will shift costs to ratepayers earlier and could raise monthly bills; one senator offering an amendment to strike the future test‑year provisions said she had been told the change could cost roughly $17 per month per utility for some households, and asked for more time to vet the fiscal impact.

On amendments and roll calls: the Senate adopted an amendment restoring grandfathering language for solar projects constructed and operating before Aug. 9, 2022; rejected Senate Amendment 2 (a 10% discount for customers age 60+ in MISO service territory) on a roll call (10 ayes, 20 nays); rejected Senate Amendment 3 (strike future test year provisions) on a roll call (12 ayes, 18 nays); and later adopted a technical Senate Amendment 4 cleaning up cold/hot weather shutoff language.

Senators repeatedly urged more time to review the substitute and to make sure offices and members who had voted no in committee had been offered a chance to negotiate language. Several senators said utility representatives had not met with their offices before the floor negotiations; others said negotiations had taken place and that the version on the desk reflected multiple compromises reached at a late stage.

The measure now sits on the Senate’s formal calendar; its fiscal and practical effects depend on future PSC rulemaking, final appropriations for OPC and PSC staffing, and how rate cases filed by utilities interact with the bill’s new authorities.

Votes at a glance

- Senate amendment 1 (solar grandfathering to projects operating before 08/09/2022): adopted (voice vote) - Senate amendment 2 (10% discount for customers 60+ in MISO territory): failed — roll call: 10 ayes, 20 nays - Senate amendment 3 (strike future test‑year provisions): failed — roll call: 12 ayes, 18 nays - Senate amendment 4 (technical cleanup: hot/cold weather rules, drafting fixes): adopted (voice vote) - Procedural: Senate substitute number 2 for Senate Bill 4 placed on the formal calendar (laid upon formal calendar)

What’s next

The bill will return from the formal calendar for further floor action. Any changes in funding for the Public Service Commission or the Office of Public Counsel still require appropriation and, if adopted, PSC rulemaking to implement several consumer protections and operational changes in the statute. The effect on individual household bills will depend on how utilities implement new authorities, the outcome of pending and future rate cases, and PSC decisions on prudency and tariff design.