Your Opinion: Reasons to oppose utility surcharge

Dear Editor:

I read Sen. Kehoe's article that appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch March 27 in which he stated, "We need to modernize our infrastructure to a smart grid that meets the energy of the future." Kehoe should be able to recall his days as a new car dealer that preventative maintenance kept a vehicle on the road longer than one that wasn't under PM care. This philosophy applies to the utility business too. The first thought should have been, "I know this equipment won't last for ages, so we need to plan ahead and implement improvements as our business grows, at a reasonable cost." To panic at the 12th hour is too late.

A D.G. Smith of Jefferson City is accusing the AARP of scare tactics to seniors with misleading statements about Kehoe's SB207. Seniors today, and I am one of those, (age 82) don't scare as easily as Smith alludes to. I too need oxygen, but I'm not going to allow Mr. Kehoe use scare tactics on me.

What is misleading about Ameren receiving five rate increases in the past six years, a 43 percent increase, or how about Ameren's corporate top five executives receiving over $11 million in bonuses, or the recent increase of 100 percent in their fuel adjustment charge. This is fact. What other businesses or individuals in the state of Missouri has realized a 43 percent increase in profits/wage.? None I would suspect. Misleading, I'm afraid not.

Here's some food for thought, the driving force behind all of this, is the lobbyist hired by Ameren to do the behind-the-scenes lobbying with all of our legislators and governor's office. Do away, ban all lobbyists and a lot of our problems would cease to exist, both locally and nationally. This scares me more than what the AARP, or any other group could do or say.

One more thought, if this proposed infrastructure had been in place. As Ameren's consumers, they would have been able to force us to pay for the rebuilding of the Taum Sauk reservoir, which they admitted responsibility for. Now that is scary, the fee for rebuilding had to be enormous.

Trust in God, as I have no trust with Ameren, MPSC, or our legislators. Greed prevails.