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State approves Liberty Utilities' energy efficiency program

Average Ozark customers' monthly payment to go up 87 cents per 1,000 kWh

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The Missouri Public Service Commission approved an agreement  reached by the Empire District Electric Company (doing business as Liberty Utilities), the staff of the Missouri Public Service Commission, the Office of the Public Counsel, the National Housing Trust and renewable energy advocates Renew Missouri authorizing Liberty to implement demand-side programs under Liberty’s Cycle 1 Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (MEEIA) Plan.

A demand side management program calls for planning and monitoring utility customers' power usage, with the goal of lowering energy consumption and saving customers money over time.

MEEIA was passed by the Missouri legislature and signed into law in August of 2009. The purpose of MEEIA is to encourage investor-owned electric utilities to develop and implement demand-side management programs, which are commonly called "energy efficiency programs" or "demand response programs."

Liberty’s Cycle 1 MEEIA Plan will run from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2022, and will consist of residential programs such as: Residential Efficient Products; Residential Low  Income Multifamily; Residential HVAC Rebates; and Residential Whole Home Energy: Pay As You Save (PAYS)..  

The Residential Efficient Products Program provides instant point-of-purchase incentives for qualifying measures, like generators, purchased at participating retailers, either online or in-store. It also provides for a  free online energy audit. The Residential Low Income Multifamily Program offers free energy audits and installation of low-cost energy-saving measures for multifamily customers, like apartment complexes. Customers are also eligible for prescriptive and custom rebates for qualifying measures.

The Residential HVAC Rebates Program provides rebates for the purchase and installation of  qualifying energy efficient HVAC systems installed through the Trade Ally Network. The Trade Ally  Network provides energy efficiency contractors, installers, distributors and other energy professionals  who provide training and technical support to help install energy efficient equipment. The  

Residential Whole Home Energy Pay As You Save (PAYS) Program provides customers free in-home evaluations and customized recommendations for energy efficient measures. Customers can choose to install the recommended upgrades, receive rebates for qualifying measures and Liberty will cover the full installation cost of measures that meet the requirements of PAYS.

The agreement also establishes a Demand-Side Programs Investment Mechanism (DSIM) charge under MEEIA. For a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, the DSIM charge would cost approximately $0.87 per month. It will appear as a  separate line item on customer monthly bills.

“After reviewing the Agreement, the Commission finds it is a reasonable resolution of the issues contained therein and should be approved,” the Missouri Public Service Commission said in a joint statement.

Liberty serves approximately 155,400 electric customers in the Missouri counties of Barry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Hickory, Jasper, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Polk, St. Clair, Stone and Taney. It is the main electric utility provider in the city of Ozark.


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