Missouri Public Service Commission

JEFFERSON CITY---The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved tariffs filed by The Raytown Water Company (Raytown Water) which authorizes a water rate increase of approximately $1.2 million. The new water rates are scheduled to go into effect on March 4, 2024. The rate increase is designed to recover Raytown Water’s cost of service. Water rates were last set in September of 2020.

The Commission found Raytown Water met its burden of proof to show that an increased rate is just and reasonable. “Thus, the Commission concludes, based upon its review of the whole record that rates approved as a result of this order support the provision of safe and adequate service,” said the Commission. “The revenue requirement authorized by the Commission in this case is no more than what is sufficient to keep Raytown Water’s utility plant in proper repair for effective public service and provide to the Company’s investors an opportunity to earn a reasonable return upon funds invested.”

When Raytown Water filed its water rate case on April 4, 2023, the water company stated in its request for a rate increase that it had considerable new plant that had been placed in service since its last rate case (September 2020) and that wholesale water supplier rates had increased each year. Raytown Water purchases all of its water requirements from the Kansas City Water District.

This rate case also involved costs associated with installation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). Raytown Water plans to replace all existing meters with AMI meters. The Commission determined that AMI meters provide operational and customer benefits to Raytown Water.

Specifically, the Commission found that those benefits include: 1) increased billing accuracy due to increased meter reads; 2) a more granular view of water consumption; the ability-even if not yet realized-of customers to view or otherwise be informed of their usage in increments of time other than the monthly meter read; 3) the ability-even if not yet realized-of customers to receive automatic
notifications of high water usage; 4) the ability-even if not yet realized-of customers to be shown more granular water usage data than monthly in order to assist in resolution of customer complaints; 5) freeing up personnel for other tasks; 6) makes the task of meter reading easier; 7) prevents the field crew from being diverted to meter reading; 8) notification of usage indicating a potential leak is
communicated to the Company; and 9) notification of usage indicating a potential leak can be communicated to the customer. “The Commission finds that the above discussed AMI benefits outweigh their cost,” said the Commission.

For a residential water customer using approximately 4,000 gallons of water a month, water rates will increase by approximately $14.38 a month.

Raytown Water serves approximately 6,540 customers in Jackson County in and around Raytown, Missouri.

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Case No. WR-2023-0344