Cameron’s electric rate debate comes down to who pays — and how much

By Sean Shaughnessey

Publisher

Cameron, Mo. - For Cameron residents trying to make room in the household budget for electricity, the immediate question is simple: How much is the next bill going to cost?

A consultant’s study raises another question worth answering: How much of the electric system’s cost should households carry compared with businesses and industrial users?

HDR Engineering, the consultant engaged by the city that provided the January 2025 electric rate study identified two problems. Cameron needed (and still needs) additional electric revenue overall. But the rates examined in the study also collected different proportions of the cost of serving each customer class.

In the study’s fiscal 2025–26 test-year analysis, residential revenue exceeded the costs allocated to that class by approximately $274,000. Small commercial revenue exceeded allocated costs by about $45,000.

Large commercial revenue, meanwhile, fell approximately $698,000 short of allocated costs. Industrial revenue fell about $283,000 short.

Those figures describe the study’s modeled financial picture under the existing rates it evaluated. They are not an accounting of what Cameron’s customers are paying today.

But they establish why the debate deserves more attention than a comparison of one year’s rates with the next. Raising enough money to operate the system and determining who supplies that money are related decisions, each with consequences for residents.

A lower energy rate doesn’t tell the whole story

It is tempting to compare the price per kilowatt-hour paid by a household with the price paid by a large business and conclude that the business receives a better deal.

That comparison can leave out a substantial part of the bill.

Cameron’s published rate sheet effective Oct. 1, 2025 lists a residential energy charge of 11.9 cents per kilowatt-hour and a $20 monthly service charge. Large commercial customers are listed at 8.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, with a $35 service charge and a separate demand charge of $6 per kilowatt. Industrial customers are listed at 7.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, with a $40 service charge and the same $6 demand charge.

The distinction between kilowatt-hours and kilowatts matters. Energy charges reflect how much electricity a customer uses over time. Demand charges reflect the level of power the customer requires, as determined under the utility’s billing rules.

Consequently, the lower commercial or industrial energy price cannot be evaluated on its own. The service and demand charges must also be counted. (cameronmo.com)

HDR’s cost-of-service analysis went beyond those posted energy prices. It compared the revenue attributed to each customer class with the costs allocated to serving it. That is the comparison behind the shortfalls the study identified.

What has changed since the study?

The published demand charges demonstrate that Cameron’s rate structure includes more than a uniform charge for electricity consumed. They also mean it would be premature to conclude that the city responded to HDR solely by raising everyone’s rates without restructuring them.

The next question is how closely the adopted changes follow the consultant’s recommendations—and what those changes have accomplished.

HDR recommended a phased approach to addressing the differences among customer classes while meeting the utility’s broader financial needs. Its findings do not, by themselves, establish that residential rates could remain unchanged indefinitely or that every large commercial customer was individually paying less than the cost of serving that account. The analysis evaluated customer classes collectively.

To assess the city’s response, residents need a comparison of the recommended changes, the rates actually adopted and updated financial results or projections.

That comparison should show whether large commercial and industrial revenues are moving closer to their allocated costs, how residential customers are affected and what timetable the city is following.

Understanding the classifications

The study identified 129 large commercial accounts and five industrial accounts. Those are account counts, which should not automatically be read as counts of separate businesses.

Across the County Line has asked the city to explain the criteria for each classification, including the roles of electricity consumption and demand, and how often accounts are reviewed.

The publication has also requested records identifying commercial service accounts. Missouri’s Sunshine Law requires municipal utilities to disclose commercial customers’ names, billing addresses, service locations and dates of service, while allowing individually identifiable usage and billing records to be closed. The request does not seek individual customers’ consumption or payment histories. (revisor.mo.gov)

The purpose is to explain how the classifications work and how consistently the city applies them.

Following the money after the rate changes

Across the County Line has sent City Manager Scott Meszaros questions about the implementation of HDR’s recommendations, the latest rate changes and any updated analysis of the differences among customer classes.

A separate public records request seeks the rate ordinances, classification policies and existing reports needed to compare the consultant’s recommendations with the city’s actions. Those responses are pending.

For households, the practical question is whether they are paying an appropriate share of the cost of a reliable electric system.

HDR’s study provides a starting point. The city’s adopted rates and subsequent results will show how far Cameron has moved toward addressing what the consultant found.