Sikeston BMU officials address concerns

SIKESTON — Representatives from the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities tried to answer resident’s questions regarding higher utility bills during Monday night’s Sikeston City Council meeting.

Many residents attended the Feb. 1 Sikeston City Council meeting, angry at their monthly bills that were much higher than expected. During the Feb. 1 meeting, Sikeston Mayor Steven Burch asked BMU Manager Rick Landers and BMU Board Chairman Brian Menz to report back to the council concerning some of the questions raised by residents.

A presentation by Landers attempted to answer those questions Monday, including the new meters. During the Feb. 1 meeting, several residents brought up concerns that the new AMI meters installed by BMU in 2020 were giving incorrect readings. One resident even cited court cases against cities using the same AMI meters, which were allegedly giving faulty readings.

Landers said testing was done on all AMI meters prior to installation and a third-party meter testing vendor will test 1 percent of the current meters sometime in March. He said the meters that will be tested include those questioned by customers and those who requested reviews. He added that two BMU employees are certified to test all the meters with appropriate equipment and that since 2015 only one meter hasn’t passed review.

Approximately 500 BMU accounts have been reviewed since the Feb. 1 meeting and since that meeting an additional 56 customers have been added to the budget or levelized billing accounts. At the Feb. 1 meeting, BMU staff was onsite to pull customer accounts before and after the meeting and there were no discrepancies in usage or billing found on those reviewed.

Landers said payment plans have been updated and are more flexible. Right now the two ways to make payment arrangements are by budget or levelized billing.

Councilman Brandon Sparks asked Landers the difference between budget and levelized billing. Landers explained the levelized billing plan charges the customer based on their rolling 12-month average usage while budget billing charges a fixed amount every month using an average that is calculated each May. The average is calculated in May by adding the prior 12 months’ usage and dividing it by 11.

Customer service was also a big concern to many in attendance at the Feb. 1 meeting and Landers said the customer service team has been updated on concerns and steps have been taken to make improvements. More backup personnel has been designated for those seeking payment arrangements and the phone system has been updated as well.

Burch encouraged those who have tried to call in the past to make payment arrangements and were unable to get anything done to try again.

“Call them back,” Burch said. “They’ve changed their approach and are being more flexible.”

Landers also addressed why the January utility bills were so high, showing graphs documenting that Sikeston usually peaks in usage in January and February. While January 2021 wasn’t the highest for usage in the last 10 Januarys, it was in the top five.

“I don’t understand how rates went so big, so fast,” said Sikeston resident Bo Ozment.

Ozment, who is with the Sikeston VFW, said prior to last month the highest electric bill the VFW had was $3,882 in January of 2018. Last month it was $5,800.

“Something is happening here,” Ozment said. “I expect a $10,000 bill next month.”

Ozment was told while the usage was higher in January 2021 as opposed to January 2018, the difference in price is also reflected by the difference in rates.

Landers said in 2012 the coal cost doubled and the cost for Sikeston BMU went up $15 million a year.

“So we spent a period of time catching up with that,” Landers said.

In 2012 Sikeston BMU residential users were paying 4.8 cents per Kwh, then 5.2 in 2013 and 5.1 in 2014.

Then between 2015 and 2018 “the windmills, fracking gas and everything caused revenue to our plant to literally fall off,” according to Landers.

In 2015, BMU residential users were paying 5.5 cents per Kwh and that increased yearly to 7.4 in 2018, in an attempt to try and counter the lost revenue.

“Once we went through that four-year period, we realized we could no longer count on the power plant to subsidize the cost of the retail system,” Landers said, adding they then went to a rate consultant to look at where they don’t have to depend on the power plant anymore. Now, in 2021, residents are paying 9.3 cents per Kwh.

“That’s what happened to get from where we were to where we are,” Landers said. “Basically the power plant couldn’t make any revenue we used to subsidize rates and we had to do something so the retail system could operate. It happened a lot faster than we wanted it to happen.”

Residents also spoke out Monday about BMU shutting off power after a bill wasn’t payed. While BMU doesn’t shut off power if the temperature is below 32 degrees, some residents like Ozment wanted BMU to give advance notice to those who were going to have their electricity turned off so they could find help.

“BMU has to find some way to have a heart,” Ozment said. “Find a way to fix this. You need to have some kind of discount, some kind of way to help people.”

He said contacting the user and giving them programs where they might be able to find help could help reduce the number of residents who have their power turned off.

Sikeston landlord Hallie Bonner said he has given a discount on his rent and told BMU that everyone needed to come together. He said when the rent is $600 and the electric bill $700, “somebody isn’t going to get paid and it’s probably the landlord.”

He encouraged BMU to sacrifice as well.

“The only way we can make this thing work is to pull together,” Bonner said.

Sikeston resident John Graham suggested to officials to set aside a percentage or amount of money to put in a fund that could be siphoned from when people are in dire need of help.

While BMU’s rates were in question, they were also praised, along with the Sikeston Street Department, for all their work during the recent winter storm.

“These are some very troubling times for all of us,” Burch said, “but the fact we’ve had power throughout this situation is a blessing and we do appreciate the investment in infrastructure. Sikeston fared pretty well through this unprecedented situation we’ve had. Not just BMU but Liberty Utilities handled their situation well.”

In other action Monday, Council:

• Authorized Sikeston Parks and Recreation Director Dustin Care to apply for federal assistance from the Land Water Conservation Fund Program for the purpose of constructing two new pickleball courts at the Sikeston Recreation Complex. The project will have a $150,000 total project cost with a 20% match of $30,000 for the new courts.

• Approved the surplus of a 2009 Dodge Charger used by Sikeston DPS.

• Appointed Ryan Moxley to the Scott County Extension Council, filling the term of Matt Deane who recently moved.

• Authorized the Public Works Director Jay Lancaster to execute and submit documents related to a Delta Regional Authority grant for infrastructure for future development of the south industrial park. The infrastructure will tie into existing plans for outer roads leading to the future Ingram overpass.