Ameren UE Wants to Raise Streetlight Costs

Electric company Ameren UE hopes to increase the rates it charges for using streetlights and dusk-to-dawn lights in St. Louis County cities, including Brentwood, company spokesman Tim Fox said.

A rate increase wouldn't show up on your electric bill. Ameren bills the city directly for using streetlights, but an increase in costs could be passed down to residents via higher taxes.

The company filed a proposition with the Missouri Public Service Commission—the state regulatory agency that oversees the telecommunications industry—to increase the rates on the lights after Ameren conducted a study on the cost of service. The study revealed that cities should pay more for these services, Fox said.

Mayor Pat Kelly announced the potential increase at the Brentwood Board of Aldermen meeting on Nov. 1. He told the board that the rate hike could potentially result in a 40 to 60 percent cost increase for the use of streetlights in the city.

Fox said that lighting costs in each city will vary and that the total increase in all of the cities will jump by 10.8 percent if the proposition passes.

The St. Louis County Municipal League expected a 40 to 60 percent rate increase because that's how much Ameren said it would cost after they examined the study, said Steve Ables, assistant director of the organization.

Because streetlight rates are funded by taxes, Kelly said he is asking for justified proof for the need of an increase.

"This isn't that big of an issue," Kelly said. "But we do need to make sure that we're spending taxes wisely."

Brentwood is currently performing an independent audit of street lights in the city to determine if any aren't working. The city expects to finish the audit by the end of December.

Fox said that Ameren is completing an audit of their own. He said it would be completed in "the near future."

Ameren expects to hear a decision regarding the proposition in August 2011, because the commission usually requires 11 months to discuss and potentially enact rate increases. The proposition was filed on September 3, Fox said.

The last streetlight rate increase, a hike of 10 percent, was filed in July 2009 and passed in June 2010, he said.