JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Public Service Commission’s weekly agenda meeting lasted just 12 minutes Wednesday, with just two tariffs and new orders appearing before the commissioners.
The PSC welcomed Hampton Williams, who was recently appointed to the Office of Public Counsel by Gov. Eric Greitens and will start on Monday, Feb. 13. Williams replaces James Owen, who was appointed to the position by Gov. Jay Nixon in Feb. 2016.
The first order approved by the PSC Wednesday was an order establishing Actual Cost Adjustment balances for Liberty Utilities Corp (Midstates Natural Gas). The staff completed an audit of the company’s revenues and actual gas costs this past December and offered some recommendations regarding Liberty’s policies and practices. With the commission’s approval, the new balances will take effect on Feb. 18.
The second issue taken up by the PSC concerned a filing by Spire Inc. in the case of Midwest Energy Consumers Group (MECG) v. Great Plains Energy Incorporated.
Spire Inc., formerly known as The Laclede Group, sought to file amicus curiae, a.k.a “friend of the court” brief, on January 31. The PSC ordered a deadline to be set for Feb. 3 for objections, but MECG filed their objection a day late, due to another case their counsel was working on.
MECG’S objection to Spire’s input on the case is based on the fact that the company “does not limit itself to the three issues identified by the parties or to the facts accepted into the record is not persuasive.”
“I think Spire does have an interest in the matter and does have some comparable experience with Great Plains, so I support the order,” Chairman Daniel Hall said.
The PSC unanimously approved the order put before them on Wednesday, accepting MECG’s late filing and granting Spire’s petition to file and put the brief in the records.
The next items concerned the scheduling for two upcoming rulemaking hearings.
The first one is for the proposed amendments to the Ex Parte and Extra-Record Communications Rule, which has been set for 1 p.m. on Feb. 16. The other hearing for the proposed amendment to the Confidential Information Rule. That is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Feb. 16.
You can watch the full meeting here.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
