Independence Power & Light updates council on DKMT strategic-plan steps; staff recommends new utilities board and staffing hires

Joe Hegedeffer, director of Independence Power and Light (IPL), told the City Council the utility is implementing recommendations from a DKMT strategic plan with new staffing, technology and power-supply work aimed at improving service reliability, preparing for growth and keeping rates competitive.

Hegedeffer outlined staffing priorities the utility intends to fill: a finance manager (position posted), a finance analyst to support that manager and a utility data scientist to analyze operational and customer data. He summarized planned recurring financial work including annual updates to cost-of-service and financial models and said longer-term rate options, such as time-of-use pricing, would rely on advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

On AMI, Hegedeffer said the utility is evaluating systems and explained the difference between AMR and AMI: AMR provides monthly radio reads while AMI supplies more frequent interval data that can support outage detection, customer tools and time-of-use rates. “If we decide we want to do time of use rates, I can't do that with AMR,” he said.

Hegedeffer described power-supply planning steps: the utility is preparing to commission an integrated resource plan (IRP) as a long-term framework, reviewing purchase-power contracts (including those administered through the Missouri Public Utility Alliance and the Iatan project) and pursuing options to expand capacity. He said IPL owns about 12.3% of a gas-fired plant in Pleasant Hill and is discussing expansion with other owners; he also said IPL could exercise an option to increase capacity under the Oneta contract from 45 to 70 megawatts and is evaluating whether to extend that contract beyond its current expiration.

On governance, staff recommended replacing the existing Public Utility Advisory Board (PUAB) with a five-member Public Utilities Board to cover water, wastewater and electric utilities. The proposed board would include one ex officio city-council member, three city-resident seats (with residency or business/expertise requirements) and up to one outside-business-seat to accommodate major-ratepayers. Hegedeffer said the board would handle operational authorities—yearly budget recommendations, procurement, strategic initiatives and rate-setting preparation—while some items (debt issuance, final rate approval and the yearly budget) could still require council action; charter amendments would be necessary and staff would return with draft language and a timeline, with a vote target the following August.

Council members pressed staff on how to limit politics while keeping council input. Hegedeffer said an ex officio member “would be a voting member” but would represent only one of five votes; he also described a proposed selection committee that would recommend candidates for council approval. Council members asked about qualifications, how the board compares to other cities and which powers would remain with the council; Hegedeffer said some public-debt and rate approvals would still return to council after board review.

Hegedeffer also reported that IPL is financially stable, describing IPL as “a hundred and $50,000,000 revenue and budget enterprise” and noting the utility’s debt-to-revenue ratio remains within industry norms, leaving room for bond financing if needed. He recommended debt-funding a share of long-lived capital projects and continuing to pursue grants and outside funding.

Staff requested direction on next steps; the transcript records Hegedeffer’s presentation and council questions but no formal council vote. Council and staff agreed to further study sessions on specific generation, debt and contract issues if required.