The city of Independence has completed swapping out 11,400 old mercury vapor and sodium vapor streetlights for LEDs which use one-third of the energy and last roughly 20 years.

Jason White, one of the organizers of Indy Energy, asks why Independence Power & Light rates are higher that other area utilities in a column in The Examiner.

White writes:

"IPL, our city-owned-and-operated power company, is well managed and well served by a good workforce. But our residential electric rate is now the highest in the region based on the city's own comparisons with KCP&L and BPU while our commercial electric rates have been higher than KCP&L for several years."

The city of Columbia, Mo. - a municipal-owned utility - has issued its annual renewable energy report.

The report, required by city ordinances, provides a detailed look at how the public utility is diversifying its energy supply.

Wind energy and transmission lines are the subject of a lengthy Sunday Kansas City Star article.

The story looks at plans to build a $2 billion high-voltage transmission lines to carry Kansas wind-generated electricity to Eastern states which requires approval of the Missouri Public Service Commission.

The city of Kansas City, Mo. is joining a 10-city effort to significantly boost energy efficiency in city buildings, a move that could over time lower the energy bills of Kansas City businesses by as much as $55 million annually and cut the equivalent amount of energy generated by 29,000 homes annually.

Kansas City will be participating in the new City Energy Project, an initiative from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Institute for Market Transformation that is designed to create healthier, more prosperous American cities by targeting their largest source of energy use and climate pollution: buildings. The following cities will be joining Kansas City as the project's first participants: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is highly critical of proposed rules involving coal-fired power plants, based on published reports.

IBEW believes the rules will hamper job growth and U.S. energy independence and raise electricity prices.

Thirty-seven states were net importers of coal in 2012, sending billions of dollars to other states and nations for coal — money that could have instead been used to support local economies, according to a new report.

Missouri is ranked fourth among state most dependent on imported coal to generate power following Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.

Investor-owned utility Ameren will build a multi-million-dollar solar energy facility on a 19-acre site next to its electrical substation in O’Fallon, Mo., according to press reports.

Ameren should complete the solar facility by April.

The Kansas City Star reports that bitter cold winter and dwindling funds for utility assistance are making it difficult for many families.

Since 2009, federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance program funds have dropped from $115 million to $66.5 million.

Kansas City Power and Light announced a major plan to invest generate more power through wind and also help customers reduce energy consumption

The hope is the two developments - more wind energy and reducing demand - can help push off a rate increase for two to three years. 

Independence Power and Light expects to double its purchase of renewable energy by the end of 2017, according to a report a leading energy publication.

Megawatt Daily reports that IP&L wants to expand solar generated power favoring this approach over additional wind power.

Columbia Mo is looking at ways to increase solar power generated in the community, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune.

Columbia Water and Light is proposing to spend $500,000 on a community solar program in which electric customers who could not install panels on their own properties would be able to invest in energy from a centralized array and would be able to use the power generated as credit for their utility bill.

Independence Power & Light should have access to lower cost electricity through an agreement with the Southwest Power Pool. The new arrangement will allow IP&L "to match supply and demand at the lowest total production costs" from SPP utility members in the six-state the regional utility pool.

The energy options facing the city of Independence are outlined in a column by Lynn Youngblood in a column in The Independence Examiner. 

NPR reports who new exploration of domestic oil and natural gas are changing the US energy outlook.

One of the consequence is a shift away from coal.

Energy options for the City of Independence will be discussed at a community informational meeting Sat, Jan. 11 at 10 am at the North Independence Mid-Continent Public Library.
The meeting is being organized by Indy Energy, a citizen effort to promote broader understanding and discussion of energy issues facing the community including the environment, utility rates and economic development.