Help Missouri small businesses keep the lights on
As Missouri struggles to advance statewide economic development and energy policies, small businesses are feeling the pressure. When it comes to energy, a perfect storm is brewing that could threaten our states low energy rates, ultimately harming small businesses.
- The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent mercury rules will put mounting pressure on operators of coal-fired power plants to either spend millions to clean them up or retire them outright. More EPA emission standards are expected or deadlines are already looming.
- Missouri’s fleet of coal plants has an average age of 50 years, and many will need massive and expensive retrofitting to continue operation. With an 80 percent dependency on these plants, Missouri is increasingly vulnerable to higher energy rates, unless we plan ahead.
- Rate disparities among electric users allows some large companies to pay far less than residential and small business consumers, forcing Joe’s Printing Company, or Mom’s Restaurant to pay far more for their electricity.
Let’s not reach a point where small businesses have to choose between cutting employees and keeping the lights on.
