FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2024

 

Liberty files to adjust natural gas rates for Missouri customers

New rates to allow Liberty to recover investments in critical infrastructure for safe, reliable service and to enhance the customer experience

 

JOPLIN, MISSOURI – On February 9, 2024, Liberty Utilities (Midstates Natural Gas) Corp. (doing business as Liberty) submitted a request with the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) to adjust natural gas base rates. The last base rate update for Liberty’s Missouri natural gas customers was effective in July 2018. The rate update process can take up to 11 months as the PSC and other stakeholders carefully review Liberty’s request. If approved, new rates are expected to go into effect in January 2025. 

Over the last six years, Liberty has invested approximately $94.2 million in Missouri to support initiatives that benefit its natural gas customers, strengthening the reliability and resiliency of its system. If approved by regulators, the rate adjustment for Liberty’s investments would cost the average Liberty Missouri residential gas customer with approximately 54 Ccf of usage per month about $15 per month in our NEMO/WEMO service district and about $15.87 per month in our SEMO service district. 

“Our customers depend on reliable energy for their daily activities and in times of emergency,” said Mike Beatty, President, Liberty Central Region - Gas. “They also expect a convenient, effortless customer service experience. To meet our customers’ needs and to ensure the ongoing delivery of safe, reliable energy, it’s critical that we invest in our natural gas system.” 

Key investments to benefit customers included in the rate update request

Since the last base rate adjustment in 2018, Liberty has made critical Investments in the natural gas transmission and distribution system to help ensure the ongoing delivery of safe, reliable energy for its customers. This includes:

  • Updating and replacing aged pipeline infrastructure with modern polyethylene. Polyethylene piping is lighter and more durable than its steel counterparts and able to withstand high pressures and temperatures. The new infrastructure is easier and faster to locate during an emergency and less susceptible to leaks.
  • Replacing aging measuring and regulation stations to help ensure that the system can properly regulate the pressure of natural gas. These new stations also support increased capacity to serve our growing communities.
  • Installing and implementing Automated Meter Reading (AMR) to allow Liberty to read meters without having to access a customer’s property. This technology improves service and operational efficiency. It allows Liberty to gather meter readings safely and efficiently, plus it helps to reduce the need to estimate meter readings.
  • Improving the customer experience through modern service platforms. Customers now have access to a new online account platform that includes a mobile app, making their service simpler and more convenient. Customers can choose to view bills, make payments, monitor their usage, and receive text and email alerts about payments and services.
  • Expanding energy efficiency and financial assistance programs for customers. As part of our rate update request, we are seeking to enhance our financial assistance programs to enable more customers to qualify and receive help and expand energy efficiency programs to give customers more options to use less energy and save on their bills.

 

About Liberty

A subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., Liberty is committed to providing safe and reliable natural gas, water, and electricity distribution services to over one million customer connections. Liberty’s utility operations are primarily located in the United States and Canada, as well as operating in Chile and Bermuda. With a customer-centric approach to management, Liberty provides a superior customer experience through local management of walk-in centers, conservation and energy efficiency initiatives, and programs for businesses and residential customers. We measure our performance in terms of service reliability, customer satisfaction, and an unwavering dedication to public and workplace safety. Liberty’s North American distribution operations include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma and Texas in the United States, and New Brunswick Canada. For more information, please visit www.libertyenergyandwater.com.

 

###