Customers may get rate cuts as utilities see savings from tax plan

The Missouri Public Service Commission has opened a docket item that asks utilities to calculate their tax savings and suggest an “appropriate mechanism” for changing customers’ rates.

Other states are doing the same thing, and a few companies have already pledged to share the savings. Commonwealth Edison, which serves the Chicago area, filed a petition last week with the Illinois Commerce Commission to pass along $200 million in savings this year. The average electricity bill could fall by $2 or $3 a month, ComEd says.

St. Louis area utilities don’t have an estimate yet, but they acknowledge ratepayers’ claim on the money.

“We will pass these savings along to customers because it’s the right thing to do,” a Spire spokeswoman said in an email. “We’re in the process of determining the amount of savings.”

Ameren’s vice president for tax, Kendall Coyne, said in a statement that the company was reviewing the federal changes. “We expect that Ameren’s customers will ultimately benefit from a reduction in the corporate income tax rate,” he added.

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