Spire wants to raise rates to recoup legal fees for discrimination suit they lost
The legal bill for Spire Energy has come due. Now, the public utility company wants to increase residential service rates to recoup the money it spent on legal fees while defending the multimillion-dollar discrimination lawsuit it lost.
The public should pay more for natural gas because Spire discriminated? No, and if that cuts into profits, that’s between management and shareholders, or ought to be.
The Missouri Office of Public Counsel, which advocates on behalf of utility consumers throughout the state, has recommended that the Public Service Commission bat down this attempt to pass on that cost and others to consumers: “Ratepayers should not be charged for Spire officers and managers to go to sporting events, 14 concerts, and have parties,” its report said. “Ratepayers should not have to pay legal fees for successful discrimination lawsuits. These are costs caused by Spire’s management alone.”
You, too, can weigh in, at one of the six virtual public hearings that will be held next month.
Danielle McGaughy, of St. Joseph, who won that discrimination suit, said, “They’re infamous for shifting the blame.”
She worked for the former Missouri Gas Energy from 2004 until last year. St. Louis based-Laclede Gas Company purchased MGE in 2013 and in 2016 rebranded it as Spire.
McGaughy sued Spire in 2016 for workplace discrimination and won.
Last year, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a St. Louis jury’s verdict that awarded McGaughy $8.5 million.
A second lawsuit for discrimination and retaliation was settled out of court in October. The case was resolved amicably, a spokesperson for Spire said. McGaughy is prevented from speaking about the case, per a confidentiality agreement.
“The legal fees in our rate review include a portion of the expenses for a settled lawsuit,” a statement from the company read. “The settlement payments are not included.”
Privately-owned public utilities such as Spire, which provides natural gas service to about 1.17 million customers in Missouri, have an obligation to the people they serve.
You can let the Missouri Public Service Commission know your thoughts on the matter by signing up for one of the hearings. You can do that by emailing pscinfo@psc.mo.gov or calling 1-800-392-4211 by 5 p.m. the day before the hearing.
