JEFFERSON CITY — A storm is brewing for low-income Missourians facing higher energy bills.
With punishing heat pulsing across the state, President Donald Trump is calling for an end to a program that helps Missouri residents pay their utility bills. At the same time, Ameren Missouri just won approval to raise its gas rates, adding around 12%, or $13, to the average customer’s monthly bills. And Gov. Mike Kehoe signed legislation earlier this year projected to add $1,100 per year to household utility bills.
The combination of rising energy costs, rising utility usage and the president’s attempt to eliminate the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program could spell trouble for the more than 130,000 Missouri households that were able to keep their lights on, furnaces running and air conditioners cooling with federal aid.
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“To me, it seems like a looming social services disaster,” said Sandra Padgett, executive director of the Consumers Council of Missouri, which advocates on behalf of consumers on such issues as utility rates and personal finance.
The program is called a “lifeline” for people who otherwise could lose their housing if they cannot pay their utility bills. In 2023, the program distributed $136 million in Missouri, resulting in an average benefit of about $675 per household.
LIHEAP also funds home weatherization upgrades, including insulation and air sealing improvements, which reduce energy waste and help lower utility bills.
More than one third of the Missouri households included at least one older adult. Half of the households included a person with a disability, Padgett said.
As temperatures continue to hover in the 90s, state health officials have urged Missourians to take precautions.
In 2023, for example, 34 Missouri residents, ranging from 11 months to 96 years, died due to heat-related illness.
The warning signs that LIHEAP could be in trouble came in April when the entire staff of the program was fired as part of sweeping cuts throughout the federal workforce.
In his budget request, Trump is proposing to cut the $4 billion program and “instead support low-income individuals through energy dominance, lower prices, and an America First economic platform.”
Trump called the program unnecessary because states have policies preventing utility disconnection for low-income households.
Missouri, for example, has a hot weather rule prohibiting utilities from disconnecting customers due to nonpayment of a utility bill during times of extreme heat.
On any day when the National Weather Service local forecast predicts that the temperature will be greater than 95 degrees or the heat index will be greater than 105 degrees, utility providers are prohibited from disconnecting electricity service.
“People are going to have a very hard time keeping up,” Padgett said. “There’s no relief from energy inflation in sight.”
The funding fight now is in Congress, where there is bipartisan support for keeping the program, as well as support for LIHEAP from the utility industry, including Ameren and Spire, the two main energy suppliers in the ӣƵ area.
On Tuesday, Alex Adams, who is Trump’s pick to serve as assistant secretary for family support at the Department of Health and Human Services, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that state policies prohibiting shutoffs in certain months will take precedent over federal dollars.
He added, however, “If Congress funds it, we’ll get the money out the door.”
Bees are vital to producing the fruit, vegetables, nuts and other foods humans rely on. And while they’re generally heat-tolerant, scientists say the warming climate is putting bees at risk by reducing their ability to fend off disease and find food.
