Spire Missouri rate hike approved, monthly bills to rise 10% this fall

ST. LOUIS - Spire Missouri, a natural gas provider in the St. Louis area, is set for another rate hike this fall, a move expected to increase monthly customer bills by 10% on average.

On Wednesday, the Missouri Public Service Commission approved a plan for a $210 million rate increase for natural gas customers of Spire. The increase will officially take effect on Oct. 24.

PSC officials say the increase is about $80 million less than SPIRE sought when it filed a rate-hike request last November.

A Spire spokesperson tells FOX 2 that the average Spire Missouri monthly residential customer bill in eastern Missouri is expected to increase $8.2, or around 10%.

"These increases are to Spire’s cost of service to recover investments to upgrade infrastructure and ensure we are able to continue safely delivering reliable natural gas service to our customers," said the Spire spokesperson in a statement. The investments include upgrades to infrastructure like pipelines and meters.

Spire says the PSC also approved a new assistance program that will waive its customer charge of $22 for qualified customers on limited incomes.

Spire serves 1.7 million homes across three states, including tens of thousands of customers across the St. Louis region.

Any customer who is facing challenges with paying their bill is encouraged to contact Spire at 800-887-4173.