Kansas utilities may charge for lobbying

Kansas and Missouri residents’ utility bills may be helping to bankroll energy sector lobbying against policies aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

By

News

June 8, 2021 - 7:51 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas and Missouri residents’ utility bills may be helping to bankroll energy sector lobbying against policies aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal and state rules prohibit utility companies from passing their lobbying costs on to customers through bills. But in both Kansas and Missouri, utilities like Evergy, Ameren and Spire can include memberships in national trade groups in what residents pay for electricity and gas.

And while utilities are required to carve out those organizations’ lobbying costs, even the remaining sum they are allowed to pass on to customers can go toward efforts that shape major policy, according to environmental groups pushing federal regulators to adopt more stringent policies. 

Related
August 17, 2021
July 9, 2021
July 7, 2021
April 15, 2021