By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Members of Congress from rural districts in Missouri and Kansas have joined forces to introduce legislation aimed at bringing stability to the energy grid in states served by the Southwestern Power Administration.

Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves and Congressman Tracey Mann, who represents the largest Congressional district in Kansas, are co-sponsoring the Southwestern Power Administration Fund Establishment Act. The Southwestern Power Administration markets power produced by federal hydropower projects to electric cooperatives and municipal utilities in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. It is a part of the Energy Department.

“Missouri’s rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities have worked with the Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA) to provide affordable and reliable electricity to Missouri families for over 80 years,” Congressman Graves said in a written statement. “But the way SWPA is set up, droughts and other disruptions can cause rate spikes that are passed on to co-ops and municipalities that have no choice but to increase electric rates on Missouri families. This common sense legislation creates a revolving fund to fix that problem—giving SWPA the stable funding necessary to avoid costly rate spikes, and lower customer rates.”

 “For more than eight decades, the Southwestern Power Administration has allowed rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities to provide reliable, affordable energy to Kansans,” Congressman Mann said in a written statement. “Under the current funding structure, SWPA has not had the flexibility to make necessary investments into their infrastructure. As a result, when natural disasters and bad weather limit the Administration’s ability to produce power, replacement power has to be purchased, and that cost is absorbed by everyday Kansans. Establishing a revolving fund for SWPA ensures that they can continue to invest in their infrastructure while providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy to Kansas families and rural communities like those in the Big First.”

The Southwestern Power Administration Fund Establishment Act would give Southwestern Power authority to establish self-funded financing to provide long-term stability, helping to mitigate drastic spikes in power rates.

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