Missouri Public Service Commission

JEFFERSON CITY---To reflect estimated changes in the wholesale cost of natural gas as well as a change in the company’s Actual Cost Adjustment (ACA) factor, natural gas customers of The Empire District Gas Company d/b/a Liberty (Empire) will see natural gas rates decrease under a filing that takes effect on December 3, 2023.

The ACA factor is a mechanism which tracks any over-collection or under-collection of actual natural gas costs over a 12 month period. The net over- or under-collected balances are subsequently either refunded or collected the next year.

North System: Residential customers currently pay approximately $1.05 per Ccf (per hundred cubic feet) of natural gas. Under this filing, the rate will decrease to approximately $0.60 per Ccf. The North System includes the cities of Chillicothe, Marceline and Trenton.

South System: Residential customers currently pay approximately $1.15 per Ccf (per hundred cubic feet) of natural gas. Under this filing, the rate will decrease to approximately $0.82 per Ccf. The South System includes the cities of Clinton, Lexington, Marshall and Sedalia.

Northwest System: Residential customers currently pay approximately $1.30 per Ccf (per hundred cubic feet) of natural gas. Under this filing, the rate will decrease to approximately $0.34 per Ccf. The Northwest System includes the communities of Rock Port, Maryville and Tarkio.

The cost of natural gas from wholesale suppliers generally makes up approximately 50% to 55% of a customer’s total monthly natural gas bill. The wholesale cost of natural gas (the cost your local natural gas company must pay to its suppliers for natural gas) is not regulated by the Missouri Public Service Commission. The wellhead cost of natural gas is unregulated and is primarily drivenvby supply, demand and the weather. The Missouri Public Service Commission does conduct an annual regulatory review to ensure that regulated natural gas companies make prudent decisions in securing natural gas supplies for their customers.

Empire serves approximately 43,250 natural gas customers in Missouri.

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Case No. GR-2024-0150