Dear Editor:
Like many small businesses across the state, those in the restaurant industry have been hard hit by rising energy prices. Restaurants use large amounts of electricity both to cook and to keep our customers comfortable. This has become a more expensive proposition lately as Missouri's largest electrical utilities have enjoyed large rate hikes at our expense.
These rising costs are precisely why we have been closely watching the Noranda Aluminum rate relief case. This paper's oversimplified coverage of the issue does a real disservice to readers by portraying this rate relief request as harmful to Ameren customers. The exact opposite is true.
We have joined with other consumers to support Noranda's request. We know if Noranda goes out of business, and Ameren loses a customer that pays $160 million annually for electricity, the remaining customers will eventually absorb the cost. Additionally, having Noranda on the regulated system spreads Ameren's costs over a larger customer base and provides an invaluable check and balance to Ameren at the Public Service Commission and in the Legislature.
Small businesses across Missouri need to be able to keep more of their hard-earned money. We are paying 40 percent more for electricity than we did just six years ago. Our monthly electric bills will increase even more if Noranda is no longer in business. Now is the time for the Public Service Commission to approve Noranda's request and protect us from even larger rate increases in the future.