A new law in Kansas aims at protecting Kansas ratepayers from further increases in the transmission delivery charge for electricity.
House Bill 2225 addresses a rising transmission delivery charge (TDC) in the state. Having undergone an amendment process in the Kansas Legislature, the bill is a product of negotiations between ratepayers, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), and Evergy.
“As Kansas electric utility rates have grown more uncompetitive, our ratepayer members are seeking to prioritize and adopt any option the state has to increase oversight and accountability on behalf of ratepayers,” said Kansas Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Eric Stafford in his testimony to the Senate Committee on Utilities. “House Bill 2225 was introduced to grant the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) stronger oversight into the excessive increases in the transmission delivery charge passed onto ratepayers.”
According to the Kansas Legislature’s summary, the bill requires public utilities to assess regional rate competitiveness and the impact current and proposed rates have on economic development.
“Immediate savings to ratepayers is expected to be around $9 million,” Stafford explains. “The total revenue reduction in the next three years is expected to total $40-45 million. Rate reductions will be shared among all classes based on their percentage purchase levels which is expected to be split 60 percent for commercial and industrial users and 40 percent for residential.”
Since 2008, the TDC increased from $72 million to more than $300 million in 2023. The Chamber’s 2022 energy report cites transmission buildout as one of the major cost drivers inflating electricity bills in Kansas, with transmission delivery charges accounting for more than 20 percent of Kansas ratepayers’ bills.
Though Evergy supports the compromise version of the bill, the utility’s Senior Vice President Chuck Caisley clarified in testimony to the Senate Committee on Utilities that HB 2225 “only impacts Evergy and represents the legislature taking direct action negatively impacting a Kansas company that has nearly 5,000 employees and thousands of Kansas shareholders.”
“This bill will lower our earnings, including retroactively on transmission investments that were made many years ago,” Caisley explained in his testimony. “That said, Evergy’s support of this compromise bill and our significant progress on regional rate competitiveness over the past five years demonstrate our ongoing commitment to affordable energy costs in Kansas.”
The compromise version of HB 2225 overwhelmingly passed the Kansas House by a vote of 121 to one and Kansas Senate by a vote of 37 to two. It was also signed by Gov. Laura Kelly during a session in which she vetoed 15 bills — more than any governor in three decades.
Evergy’s corporate executives highlighted record revenues on an investor call in early May, on the back of their announcement that they are seeking another $214 million rate increase on ratepayers.
