SierraScape April - August 2017
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by Andy Knott
Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign

In February, Sierra Club reached a unanimous settlement with Ameren and all other parties in Ameren's latest proposed rate hike. The settlement drastically limits the fixed customer charges Ameren had proposed in its rate case before the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC). Ameren agreed to drop a new "grid access charge" that would have nearly tripled fixed charges over the next few years, and agreed to only raise an existing $8/month customer charge to $9/month. High fixed charges hurt energy conservation and solar energy installation by customers because these charges are imposed regardless of how much energy is used.

The settlement also requires Ameren, in its next rate hike proposal, to propose a new type of rate structure that would encourage energy conservation, and Ameren will be required to hold a stakeholder process to gather input on that rate structure. During this rate proceeding, Sierra Club delivered more than 1500 comments to the PSC opposing fixed rates, and supporting rates that encourage energy conservation, and we turned out dozens of volunteers making the same arguments to several public hearings. Thank you to our members and supporters who helped pressure Ameren to do the right thing in this rate case!

Also in February, Sierra Club was granted conditional approval to intervene in an EPA Clean Air Act lawsuit against Ameren's Rush Island coal plant. In late January, a federal judge ruled that Ameren was liable for violating the Clean Air Act for conducting major modifications at the plant that significantly increased sulfur dioxide emissions. Ameren failed to obtain a permit for those modifications, which would have required installation of a scrubber. Scrubbers can reduce sulfur dioxide pollution by up to 98%. The case is now entering the remedy phase to determine how the plant will be brought into compliance. We argued in our motion that the Trump administration's hostility towards EPA puts this lawsuit in jeopardy, citing then-candidate Trump's statement that he would "get rid of (EPA) in almost every form" if elected.