MUCRA: The "Missouri Utility Consumer Relief Act"

"Under Missouri's Republican and Democrat legislators, your utility bills are sky-rocketing.   The "Missouri Utility Consumer Relief Act" ( MUCRA ) is designed to finally give Missouri's utility customers some well deserved relief and representation".

MUCRA's Background:

The "Missouri Utility Consumer Relief Act" ( MUCRA ) has been in existence for almost a decade now. This proposed legislation was   written to finally give Missouri's utility consumers the representation, accountability and oversight they deserve ( -and which has been so conspicuously absent thus far ).

While Missouri's Republican leaders ( -Jane Cunningham, Brian Nieves, etc. ) were apprised of MUCRA years ago, the state's Republicans have refused to take action, choosing instead to leave their constituents to the mercy of BOTH the predatory utility companies AND the EPA's over-reach ( -whose Draconian regulations have resulted in the sky-rocket-ing utility costs that President Obama promised and which Missourians are still facing -even under the Republican Greiten's Administration ). 

"When he assumed office, President Obama promised that your electricity rates would "necessarily sky-rocket". While feigning outrage at such Federal over-reaches, Missouri's Republicans have steadfastly refused to introduce the "Missouri Utility Consumer Relief Act". WHY? Are the utility's campaign contributions coloring their decisions?  Most utility consumers think so!

It was only after State Representative Keith English ( -Independent, District 68 ) became involved that progress began to be made on         behalf of Missouri's under-represented utility customers.

 

Representative English, working with his colleagues, managed to incorporate several of MUCRA's provisions into Missouri state law. However, much more needs to be done in order to protect Missouri families from ( new ) rate increases ( -estimated to double within             the next five years ). In short, MUCRA needs to be passed in it's         entirety.  And this needs to be done SOON! 

If you're a Missouri utility customer who's HAD IT with never-ending rate increases and feel you're long overdue for some relief, I encourage you to contact your State Rep and Senator and urge them to support the proposed "Missouri Utility Consumer Relief Act" ( below ). Ask them to sponsor ( or )  co-sponsor it in the Missouri General Assembly. Provide them with the weblink below: http://locallegendfilms.jimdo.com/MUCRA  so they can read the Act for themselves!  If they're unwilling to act on your behalf -consider replacing them in the next election! 

"Are you sick of never-ending utility rate increases? Are    you tired of seeing the PSC  routinely approving their rate increases ( -without the utility companies having to EARN their increases? ). All of that would change under my pro-posed "MUCRA" bill".                                                   

TIRED OF WATCHING YOUR RATES SKYROCKET?                                                    

 

"Ask your State Representative to support it. They WILL listen if enough of us complain loud enough about it. Ask your friends and neighbors to get involved. The more people our Reps hear from the more likely they are to sponsor this legislation".

Main points: "Missouri Utility Consumer Relief Act"         ( MUCRA ). Proposed legislation to protect Missouri's utility customers from "runaway" rate increases.

WE, MISSOURi'S UNDER-REPRESENTED UTILITY CONSUMERS, strongly encourage our State Representatives to introduce the "Missouri Utility Consumer Relief Act" ( MUCRA ) in it's entirety in the next session of the Missouri General Assembly. Upon ratification, the Act would: 

1. ) Prohibit utility companies from requesting more than ONE rate increase every 18-months ( -and prohibit rate-increases of more than 2%  in any one rate-increase period ), so as not to impose unreasonable financial strain upon Missouri's utility customers. 

 

2. ) Prohibit MULTIPLE utility companies from submitting rate increase requests SIMULTANEOUSLY ( -putting undue financial strain upon utility customers ),  

 

3. ) Allow utility consumers to "opt out" of "Block Average Rate" schemes   ( -like MSD's ) that penalize conserving consumers ( -who are lumped in with and "averaged" with big water users ) forcing them to pay the higher ( BAR ) rate despite their lower usage.. Allow conserving consumers to be billed for what they ACTUALLY USE not  what the "Block Average" Rate is!

 

4. ) Prohibit utility companies from recouping legal costs, back taxes, cost overruns, projection shortfalls, customer usage decreases ( or ) OTHER utility-caused accidents, miscalculations and errors from being passed along to customers via rate increases, "surcharges" or similar billing verbiage. Under this bill, Missouri's ( "Gross Municipal Receipts" ) law would be amended -preventing these deceptive billing abuses     from occurring in the future,

 

5. ) Additionally, utilities would be required to demonstrate ( in writing )      the justification for their rate increases or surcharges based upon       third-party documentable evidence and data ( -with such material,   labor, gas/ energy, transport, vendor or other cost expenditures verified by the State's chief accounting officer to assure they're legitimate ), 

6. ) Require rate increase requests to be PERFORMANCE-BASED,  requiring utilities to EARN  their increases ( -by providing evidence           of their maintaining a high level of service and customer satisfaction during the most recent rate increase period -as demonstrated by utility customer "feedback" in the form of letters, complaints and case records kept on file by the Office of Public Counsel ( OPC ), BEFORE any rate increase is even considered  by the Public Service Commission ( PSC ), 

7. ) Prohibit "TIF-like" ( lower utility rate ) "Sweetheart Deals" from being struck between companies and the state's utilities ( -such as those     under HB-1 ), that force utility consumers to "foot the bill" for these reduced rates ). These misguided "re-distributionist" policies ( -that       pick "winners and losers" and then pick the pockets of Missouri's       utility consumers to attract companies promising "jobs" -has to STOP! ).

 

8.  ) Amend Missouri law regarding Public Service Commission staffing by requiring ONE HALF of the PSC's staff to be selected by Missouri's utility consumers and the other half to be Governor-appointed. The utility con- sumer selected half of the PSC staff having the SAME voting and vetoing power as the Governor appointed half ( -thereby assuring customers of fair representation on the commission ), This provision of MUCRA would ALSO  prohibit utilities from bypassing ( or ) circumventing the PSC's rate approval authority.                                                             

                                                                                                                                      . 9. ) Compel the State to solicit bids every five years from competing utility providers ( -both in-state and out where feasible -to ensure that Missouri's utility rates are on-par and competitive with non-monopoly utilities across the country ). 

10. ) Prohibit Missouri utilities from secretly installing two-way "Smart Meters" without prior notification and consent of the utility customer         ( -and this ONLY after full disclosure of the proven health risks, i.e: EMF   cell radiation/ possible interference with "pacemakers", etc. ), with each illicit "Smart Meter" installation carrying a $1,000.00 fine ( -plus medical bills paid if the customer can prove their health has been adversely     affected by the meter ) assessed of the offending utility -paid to the customer. As well, no utility would be permitted to hike the rates or add     a "surcharge" ( -or similar expense ) to a customer's bill who refuses a "Smart Meter" or who refuses to upgrade to "Smart", "Green" or "Energy-Efficient"  appliances, light bulbs or "Smart Grid" household wiring schemes. 

11. ) Compel the State's Attorney General ( -as a newly enumerated duty   of his office adherent this Act  ), to file lawsuits on behalf of Missouri utility consumers ( or ) join OTHER State's "class action" suits contesting any Federally imposed "unfunded mandate" that results in higher utility bills for Missourians when said mandate unconstitutionally violates State sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment,  

12. ) Eliminate the ( $25.00 ) fee imposed upon family members when they have to "change-over" the name on an account ( -due to the death of a family member ). Decrease the food spoilage reimbursement threshold   ( -from the current $100.00 to $75.00 ) when extended power outages cause the spoilage of utility customer's food.

 

13. ) Require utility companies to notify customers  ( 72 ) hours

in-advance ( -by either phone or mail ) of any work that will be done

to utility lines on ( or ) adjacent to their property ( -to allow customers adequate time to prepare for such inconveniences ).

14. ) Compel utility companies that have committed a usage/ billing error on a customer's bill to resolve that error ( -within one billing cycle  ) or incur a $50.00 penalty fee ( -deducted from the customer's following bill or bills ) if said error isn't resolved within that billing cycle. 

 

15. ) Compel utility companies to adhere to a two-hour service window       ( -within which time their crew arrives to perform inspections or service ) based upon the customer's agreed upon time. Customers shouldn't be forced to put their lives "on hold" to accommodate the utility company!