Empire Electric rates up 7% for 2013-14 winter season!

Along with rising food prices, you can now figure in a 7% rate increase to about 149K customers by Empire Electric partially due the fact that they did not bother to get full insurance for that twister that hit Branson in May of 2011, and courtesy of the EPA who raised the mercury standard for coal fired plants (more of these increases yet to come on the heels of Obama's pending carbon tax). But wait! there's more! Look for another rate increase in October of 2014.

Here's the nitty gritty of figuring your bill for the winter season (Nov thru Jun):

Old rate: 0.1070 cents for the first 600 kWh and then a rate of 0.0871 cents for anything above that. 

New Rate: 0.1149 and 0.0934 cents respectively.

They also levy a surcharge of $12.52 per month on top of that! Oh, and White Rive has also....

"White River Valley Electric Cooperative, which also provides service to Tri-Lakes Area customers, increased its rates effective March 1. That increase of approximately 9 percent totaled an average of $10 per month for residential customers. It last increased its rates 8 percent in April 2009, a year after a 17 percent hike." [Source: Branson TriLakes News]