The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved an agreement which reduces the annual electric revenues of Ameren Missouri by approximately $166.5 million (6 percent), effective Aug. 1.
The rate decrease reflects a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent as a result of passage of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, PSC officials said. Ameren Missouri customers are the first customers of an investor-owned electric utility in Missouri to see the benefits of the federal act.
The PSC opened a case June 6 under a provision of Missouri Senate Bill 564, which was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law. A section of the bill gives the PSC a one-time authority to order an adjustment to the electric rates of certain electrical corporations in light of the federal act.
Under the agreement approved by the commission, a residential customer using 1,000 killowhats a month would see electric rates decrease by approximately $6.21 a month.
In a statement released after the PSC action, Ameren Missouri President Michael Moehn said: "For years customers have expressed a need for more stable and predictable rates, while at the same time modernizing our grid by making it more resilient to outages. Over the last few weeks Ameren Missouri has worked closely with the PSC staff to ensure that the benefits of the federal tax reduction are quickly provided to customers. The 6 percent rate cut announced by the commission shows that the bipartisan legislation, which overwhelmingly passed the Missouri Legislature less than two months ago, is already having an immediate impact on behalf of our customers."