Some area electricity customers to see rate increases

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Quite a few Southeast Missouri residents will see rate increases on their electricity bills in the coming months.

The SEMO Electric Cooperative recently announced a plan approved by its board of directors to increase rates effective March 1. There are different rate classifications, with residential customers facing a 15.6 percent increase. Overall, rates are to go up 13.89 percent.

Reuben Jeane, general manager of the utility, cited rises in costs for the increase.

"We have to buy the power from the generators that transmit it into our substations from the power plants that generate it, and we're seeing substantially higher costs of coal and transportation to and from the plants," he said.

SEMO Electric's power generator is Associated Electric Cooperative in New Madrid. Jeane said that with environmental controls, the plant must spend a lot of money to meet them. "There are hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the New Madrid plant to make sure we maintain clean air," he said. "The cost of doing that flows down the hills to us and what we have to pay for the electrical hour, which in turn we have to charge our customers."

Also, Jeane said, the cooperative has increased costs because of the 2009 ice storm.

"We spent a lot of money on repairs, and some of that is not reimbursable," he said.

Jeane said he and other board members felt it best to raise rates and maintain a more reliable system than to keep rates lower and not take as good care of the system.

For instance, several miles of conductor are set to be replaced this year. "A lot of it was severely strained and damaged," said Jeane, adding that some of the conductor has been in place 40 or so years. "It would not be able to handle a lot of strain."