{"id":8851,"date":"2026-03-04T07:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T13:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T07:00:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T13:00:06","slug":"shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
\n

Currently, corporate energy companies in Missouri are vertically integrated, an economic term that means they both make energy and distribute it to customers. Under Rep. Don Mayhew’s plan, the companies could do one or the other (Claire Powell\/Missouri News Network).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don Mayhew believes in the free market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have choice in a lot of different things. Go to a grocery store \u2014 there\u2019s four different brands of green beans you can buy,\u201d said Mayhew, a Republican Crocker. \u201cWe know that competition in any marketplace is the foundation \u2014 the cornerstone \u2014 of our capitalist system.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Mayhew, who represents a mostly rural House district that runs from the Lake of the Ozarks to Fort Leonard Wood, has proposed a bill that aims to break up Missouri\u2019s monopoly utilities. Mayhew said it\u2019s an effort to combat rising electric bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the cost of electricity to the consumer is in that power production end. So you put competition there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Whether such a proposal would keep costs down is unclear, and Missouri\u2019s largest electric companies \u2014 Ameren and Evergy \u2014 are against it.<\/p>\n

Currently, corporate energy companies in Missouri are vertically integrated, an economic term that means they both make energy and distribute it to customers. Under Mayhew\u2019s plan, the companies could do one or the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole goal is to provide competition in the system to help regulate exorbitant fee increases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As \u201cnatural\u201d monopolies, electric utilities are subject to state oversight in exchange for being the sole provider of service in an area. Since market forces don\u2019t exist to enforce quality, affordability and reliability, those responsibilities lie with state public service commissions.<\/p>\n

If Mayhew\u2019s proposal becomes law, corporate utilities operating in Missouri, such as Ameren and Evergy, would have to sell off their power plants, and other energy producers would be able to enter the market.<\/p>\n

But Rob Dixon, Ameren Missouri\u2019s vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs, argues that could lead to higher utility bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that happens, control over generation and electricity prices shift away from our state to external entities, raising costs for customers,\u201d Dixon said.<\/p>\n

Mayhew hopes over the long term that competition would keep Missourians\u2019 electric bills under control. He knows his opponents are skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say, well, \u2018electric prices don\u2019t go down whenever you institute this.\u2019 They\u2019re probably correct,\u201d Mayhew said. \u201cBut keep in mind, the electric rates don\u2019t go down without it either and so now we\u2019re just quibbling over the rate at which they increase.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does \u2018restructuring\u2019 or \u2018deregulating\u2019 mean?<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

More than a dozen states and Washington, D.C., have what\u2019s called \u201crestructured\u201d or \u201cderegulated\u201d electric utility systems \u2014 including Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

That means policymakers have separated energy generators, those that produce power, from the utilities that transport the electricity.<\/p>\n

Kent Chandler is resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute \u2014 an economically center-right think tank \u2014 and the former chairman of the Kentucky Public Service Commission, the agency that oversees that state\u2019s utility rates.<\/p>\n

As electricity prices rise, so has public frustration over the growing costs. Chandler uses a political metaphor for the position monopoly utilities find themselves in.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never want to be the incumbent party at midterms because everybody votes out the incumbents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Charles Hua is executive director of PowerLines, a national energy consumer education nonprofit that has been tracking increasing rate requests utilities submit to regulators.<\/p>\n

He said those rising electricity prices have caught the attention of lawmakers from both parties across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly you have a lot more elected officials and politicians that are concerned about this issue and feel a need to express their action plans, their proposals for how they\u2019re going to tackle this,\u201d Hua said.<\/p>\n

Although converting to this type of electricity marketplace is sometimes called \u201cderegulation,\u201d Hua cautions against that term.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not escaping regulation. It\u2019s just you\u2019re restructuring the market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rep. Don Mayhew, a Republican from Crocker, address the Missouri House on May 8, 2023 (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hua\u2019s organization works to teach people how to get involved in cases before state energy regulators by attending hearings and testifying about their experience with utility services and prices. He believes public service commissions are supposed to serve customers first and foremost.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomewhere along the way over the last century we\u2019ve lost sight of that mission,\u201d Hua said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing the consequences now where utility bills are skyrocketing and utility rate increase requests are going through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a former public service commissioner, Chandler said the tools available to most utility regulators across the country are insufficient to protect consumers against the drawbacks of a monopoly system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my best day as a regulator, I still couldn\u2019t hold a candle to the forces for good that competitive markets can create,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But Ameren\u2019s Dixon believes Missouri\u2019s regulated energy industry is working as it should and is keeping electricity reliable for both current and future needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regulations that we have in Missouri have done a good job of keeping rates as low as possible while we make investments in the energy grid to make sure that (for) Missourians, the lights come on when they hit that switch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What the numbers say depends on who\u2019s asked. Dixon points to research done on behalf of an organization representing investor-owned utilities that shows electricity prices are not going up nationally, but instead affect just a few states and regions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the 12th lowest state in the entire country for rate increases, and Ameren Missouri\u2019s rates are 27% lower than Midwest and national averages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But data from the federal government analyzed by the Retail Energy Advancement League \u2014 a pro-deregulation organization \u2014 shows that since 2008, the states where electricity prices increased the fastest were vertically integrated. Missouri is fifth on that list.<\/p>\n

Dixon said he hears the public\u2019s growing concerns about the rising cost of living and higher prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely understand just the pocketbook issues that folks feel in their daily lives. But enacting legislation like this is not the answer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Advice from a neighbor<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Illinois saw a similar push to change how its utilities operate in the late 1990s. Citizens Utility Board of Illinois Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said it came after years of consumer frustration from spiraling electricity prices driven by inefficient generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a move that made a lot of sense at that time but I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a panacea for anybody,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Moskowitz said in the years since Illinois restructured its utility system, the dream of heading to the market to shop around to find the best deal on energy worked \u2014 at least for the state\u2019s largest electric consumers, such as manufacturers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not so easy for the small energy user, someone who uses just a house worth or an apartment\u2019s worth of energy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Moskowitz said when Illinois markets opened up, residents got scammed into signing up with overpriced alternative energy suppliers. Illinois has since passed further consumer protections into law, but Moskowitz said she\u2019s still seeing \u201ca lot of really bad deals out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you undertake this journey in Missouri, you need good consumer protections in place \u2026 and there also needs to be a lot of really individualized one on one consumer education to make sure that people aren\u2019t walking into rip offs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ameren operates in both Missouri, a vertically integrated state, and Illinois, a restructured state.<\/p>\n

Dixon said a restructured market would come at the cost of reliability for Missouri. He points to what happened in Texas during a 2021 winter storm when temperatures dropped to extreme lows, resulting in widespread power outages and monthly electric bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerators failed their state and Texans paid the price, and we don\u2019t want that to happen here in Missouri,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

But what will it cost?<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Most businesses in a capitalist economy aim to produce the best product for the lowest price, in hopes consumers will choose their product over those of competitors. Essentially, doing a thorough and efficient job leads to profits.<\/p>\n

But R Street\u2019s Chandler said since electric monopolies earn a return on investment, they\u2019re not incentivized to run power plants efficiently and pass savings that could come from that on to customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cElectric utilities are only incentivized to just invest, invest, invest,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cThey make money the less efficient they are. If they need two power plants instead of one, that\u2019s great, because they make a return on both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that has had a measurable impact on prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cStates that have restructured and have quality retail competition have seen prices go up far slower than states that stuck with their vertically integrated utilities,\u201d Chandler said.<\/p>\n

Dixon disagrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll you have to do is look around the country to see how this type of legislation works in other states,\u201d he said. \u201cRestructuring the market isn\u2019t a one way ticket to reducing costs. In fact, it really is just the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email, spokesperson Gina Penzig said Evergy \u2014 the electricity provider for a large portion of western Missouri \u2014 also believes deregulation would be bad for Missouri residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Missouri were to de-regulate, it would result in higher prices and a less stable grid,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

One challenge is that since the technology used to make and deliver electricity is always changing, experts say so too must the way it\u2019s managed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re never going to arrive at a solution that\u2019s going to work permanently,\u201d Moskowitz said. \u201cWe need to remain nimble, and we need to continue to think creatively about how to make our power system and the regulations that apply to it work for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deregulation or re-regulation<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Although there was a wave of restructuring in the 1990s, not many states are making moves in that direction now. In fact, utilities in \u201cderegulated\u201d states are making a push to get back into the electricity generation business \u2014 what\u2019s called \u201cre-regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left-leaning think tank the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently published a report on the steps state lawmakers could take to address increasing electricity costs.<\/p>\n

Rachel Jacobson is the organization\u2019s lead researcher for state climate policy and the report\u2019s co-author. She said the research is very mixed on whether breaking up electric monopolies has a significant effect on what customers pay each month.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we believe that the risk of consumers getting hurt in re-regulation is high enough that we oppose those proposals,\u201d Jacobson.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recent changes to Missouri utility law<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Mayhew has proposed legislation to break up electric utility monopolies for four years in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenate Bill 4 came along in the meantime, which puts rate increases on steroids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s referring to a massive utility bill passed last year and signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe.<\/p>\n

The law, which Mayhew voted against, gives utilities a variety of new financial accounting practices, including authorization for a policy called \u201cconstruction work in progress\u201d that enables energy companies to earn revenue on power plants as they build them \u2014 a potentially yearlong process during which no additional electricity is made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have pretty much turned all of that oversight that we would have normally had in that process over to the investor-owned themselves, who\u2019s, let\u2019s face it, and I don\u2019t blame them for this, are more concerned about the bottom line of their stockholders than they are about increases in rates associated with cost overruns,\u201d Mayhew said.<\/p>\n

Mayhew\u2019s 2026 legislation to break up monopoly utilities has yet to receive a hearing.<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared on KBIA<\/a>. It can be republished in print or online.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Currently, corporate energy companies in Missouri are vertically integrated, an economic term that means they both make energy and distribute it to customers. Under Rep. Don Mayhew’s plan, the companies could do one or the other (Claire Powell\/Missouri News Network). Don Mayhew believes in the free market. \u201cWe have choice in a lot of different…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nShopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Currently, corporate energy companies in Missouri are vertically integrated, an economic term that means they both make energy and distribute it to customers. Under Rep. Don Mayhew’s plan, the companies could do one or the other (Claire Powell\/Missouri News Network). Don Mayhew believes in the free market. \u201cWe have choice in a lot of different...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-04T13:00:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-04T13:00:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/\"},\"wordCount\":1997,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/\",\"name\":\"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities - WestplexNews.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-04T13:00:06+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":576},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":242,\"caption\":\"WestplexNews.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\",\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brad Hildebrand\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/Westplexnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities - WestplexNews.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities - WestplexNews.com","og_description":"Currently, corporate energy companies in Missouri are vertically integrated, an economic term that means they both make energy and distribute it to customers. Under Rep. Don Mayhew’s plan, the companies could do one or the other (Claire Powell\/Missouri News Network). Don Mayhew believes in the free market. \u201cWe have choice in a lot of different...","og_url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/","og_site_name":"WestplexNews.com","article_published_time":"2026-03-04T13:00:06+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576.webp","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Brad Hildebrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Hildebrand","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Hildebrand","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0"},"headline":"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities","datePublished":"2026-03-04T13:00:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/"},"wordCount":1997,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/","name":"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities - WestplexNews.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp","datePublished":"2026-03-04T13:00:06+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/90-8-1024x576-bfSAQl.webp","width":1024,"height":576},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/shopping-around-for-power-missouri-bill-aims-to-break-up-electric-utilities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shopping around for power: Missouri bill aims to break up electric utilities"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","name":"WestplexNews.com","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization","name":"WestplexNews.com","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","width":690,"height":242,"caption":"WestplexNews.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0","name":"Brad Hildebrand","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brad Hildebrand"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/Westplexnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}