On Friday, the Missouri Public Service Commission denied a request filed by the Consumers Council of Missouri, which sought Commission issuance of an emergency rule that would have temporarily prevented electric, natural gas, and water disconnections through March 31st because of the pandemic.
The Commission found that the rulemaking requested does not meet the criteria for the issuance of an emergency rule. Their ruling read, in part, “At the beginning of the pandemic in this state, the large commission-regulated utilities each voluntarily placed a moratorium on residential disconnections. This action allowed the utilities to take the necessary legal and organizational steps to revise their payment plans, collections processes, customer financial assistance programs, and other operations to better serve their customers. These utilities reported to the Commission that most of their repayment and financial assistance programs were still available and were funded. Additionally, stopping the regular disconnection processes may unintentionally harm customers by making them ineligible to receive financial assistance from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program because no disconnection was imminent. The utilities stated the customers often did not seek help with payment plans and financial assistance until prompted to do so by receiving a disconnection notice. Further, placing a moratorium on disconnections may leave customers with insurmountable arrearages when the moratorium expires.”
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