Digested From "With New Charge, Saving Electricity Could End up Costing Missourians"
Kansas City Star (07/05/09) by David A. Lieb
Some Missouri residents could soon be charged a fee for using less energy on their electric bill. This proposed energy efficiency charge has the support of utilities, most state legislators, environmentalists and even Governor Jay Nixon. It covers the cost of utilities' efforts to promote energy efficiency and cut power use. The general thinking is that charging consumers for those initiatives will ultimately cost less than charging them to build the new power plants that will be needed if electricity use is not curtailed. If Nixon signs the bill, the new law would go into effect Aug. 28. When lawmakers adjourned two months ago, the governor described the energy legislation as one of his proudest accomplishments, stating, "To save power is the equivalent of making power, and it's a pretty seismic shift" in the state's overall energy plan.
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