Lawsuit challenges Missouri solar rebate limits

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A lawsuit seeks to strike down an agreement capping the amount of solar rebates that the state's largest utilities must pay.

The lawsuit filed by supporters of the rebates asks a Cole County judge to invalidate agreements approved last year by state utility regulators involving Ameren Missouri and Kansas City Power and Light Co.

At issue is a 2008 law that requires utilities to pay rebates to people who use solar energy and sets a target for utilities to achieve in renewable energy production. The law says customer rates cannot rise by more than 1 percent as a result of the renewable energy requirements.

The lawsuit says regulators used an improper calculation to determine whether the solar rebate costs would exceed that cap when they approved limits on the rebates.