Energy + Environment
Consumer groups seek Missouri utility shut off moratorium
A coalition of consumer and health care advocates are asking the Missouri Public Service Commission to impose a moratorium on utility cutoffs for the winter to help control the spread of COVID-19. The Consumers Council of Missouri, with support from the Missouri Hospital Association, Empower Missouri and the National Housing Trust, filed the request Tuesday […]
Farmers likely to see more multinational trade deals crafted in Biden administration
WASHINGTON—American farmers who have gone through the drama and turbulence of trade and agriculture policy in the Trump administration can expect a far more sedate and multinational experience when President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January. On just the third day of his administration, President Donald Trump rattled world leaders and upended exports by announcing […]
Utilities offer help to Missourians behind on bills. Will that mean rates will increase?
Almost half a million customers of Missouri’s regulated utilities were behind on their bills in September, and 185,000 were working on payment plans to catch up with past-due accounts. That data, from a report published in October by the Missouri Public Service Commission, isn’t complete enough to know if there are more customers now than […]
Environmental justice expected to get more attention in the Biden administration
WASHINGTON — Community activists and some Democratic lawmakers have long sought to give low-income communities more latitude to challenge the cumulative effects from air, water and industrial pollution and climate change. And they expect to have a ready ear in the White House in 2021, unlike the last four years. “We have somebody to talk to […]
COVID precautions ordered for northwest Missouri hunting site
Hunters stalking ducks and geese in northwest Missouri’s Holt County will have their spots at the Nodaway Valley Conservation Area selected through an online system to reduce spread of COVID-19. The 3,900-acre conservation area was placed on COVID Red Level by the Department of Conservation after consulting with health officials in the county of 4,400 […]
Spire Missouri program will help customers catch up on gas bills during COVID pandemic
The natural gas supplier for more than 1 million Missouri customers will create a payment assistance program and allow up to 18 months to pay bills that have accumulated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the plan approved Thursday by the Missouri Public Service Commission, Spire Missouri will help customers who have lost […]
Barrett nomination advances to U.S. Senate floor with a GOP-only vote
WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, as Democrats boycotted the markup in a show of protest. The 12 Republicans on the panel speedily voted on Barrett’s nomination and sent it to the Senate floor. The full Senate will […]