Laclede Gas Company on Tuesday closed on its purchase of Missouri Gas Energy, greatly increasing the size of what was already the state’s largest natural gas utility.
Parent company Laclede Group paid $975 million dollars for MGE assets in the St Joseph, Kansas City, and Joplin service areas. Missouri regulators approved the transfer in July.
The combined utility will serve an estimated 1.1 million customers.
Laclede Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Sitherwood says there will be a rate case filed by next month, but it has nothing to do with the purchase of MGE.
“MGE would have had to file that regardless by September 18, but that rate case has to be filed because of the pipeline replacement program,” Sitherwood said in an interview. “So they will see a rate-case filing, but it is to support the investment and capital to replace the aging pipeline system.”
“When we file our rate case, the charges for customers are our cost of service and the infrastructure itself, not the transaction.”
Sitherwood says MGE customers will not notice much of a change. There will be a new logo added to your monthly bill, situating the Laclede logo next to MGE’s. She says the phone numbers and Internet addresses for contacting the company, paying your bills, and reporting emergencies will remain the same.