By Jonathan Kim on Oct 16, 2024 09:15 am
Ameren, Evergy, and Spire—Missouri’s three largest investor-owned utilities—have contributed more than $400,000 in recent years to a PAC supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kehoe, state disclosures show, continuing a pattern of utility giving to Kehoe campaign accounts.
The utilities’ contributions to the American Dream PAC, formed in 2019 and “dedicated to supporting Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe,” showcase a larger trend of utilities favoring the Republican politician, this time in his race for governor. Kehoe currently serves as lieutenant governor after holding leadership in the Missouri Senate, and has received significant financial support from utilities throughout his political career.
Ameren, the St. Louis–based electric and gas utility, has contributed $215,000 to American Dream PAC through direct corporate contributions, with an additional $3,500 in indirect contributions through the Ameren-funded Missouri’s Energy Future PAC, according to state campaign finance disclosures. Missouri’s Energy Future PAC also gave $5,000 directly to Kehoe’s candidate committee across 2023 and 2024.
Evergy, the Kansas City–based electric utility, has given $125,000 of corporate money to American Dream. Spire Inc., the St. Louis–based gas utility, has given $65,000. The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives has given an additional $29,000, according to the filings.
The contributions primarily came after Kehoe formally announced in May 2023 that he would run for governor. As campaign season has ramped up in recent months, so has utility giving to the Kehoe-aligned PAC. Ameren gave $51,000 across June and July (including $1,000 in donations made by Missouri’s Energy Future PAC); Evergy gave $100,000 in June; and Spire gave $15,000 total this year.
The data that informed this analysis are available here.
Kehoe would have substantial sway over Missouri utility regulation as Governor
If elected as governor, Kehoe would have substantial influence over the regulatory environment for the utilities donating to his campaign. Investor-owned utilities in Missouri are monopolies whose customers pay rates set by the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC’s five members, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate, effectively decide how much utilities can charge customers in rates, what capital expenditures they can make, and how much profit they can generate from eligible projects. Ameren and Evergy both have active rate cases in front of the PSC in which they are requesting to raise costs for customers by $446.2 million and $104.5 million, respectively. A recent report found that Missouri utility costs have outpaced the rate of inflation since 2020.
Past governors have appointed aides and allied legislators to the PSC. Current PSC Chair Kayla Hahn, for example, was appointed by current Governor Mike Parson and was Parson’s former policy director. (Hahn has donated $125 to Kehoe’s campaign, disclosures show.). Critics have accused the Commission of being “pro-utility” and “working too much for the power companies, not enough for the people.”
Governors also effectively have veto power over rules proposed by the PSC to hold utilities accountable, because all PSC rules require the governor’s approval. Parson recently exercised this power by rejecting a PSC rule that would have required investor-owned utilities to report detailed disconnection information. The rule was meant to enable consumer advocates and researchers to understand the geographic patterns of disconnections and energy burden to more effectively target future policy and relief.
Kehoe’s utility ties trace back to 2010
Utilities’ support for Kehoe extends throughout his political career, long before his run for governor. Ameren Missouri’s PAC has contributed $63,900 to Citizens To Elect Mike Kehoe, Kehoe’s official candidate account, since his initial run for Missouri Senate in 2010. That amount is the second most the Ameren PAC has given to any Missouri politician during the same timeframe—behind only former-governor Jay Nixon—according to an analysis of state campaign finance data by the Energy and Policy Institute.
Much of Ameren’s PAC money to Kehoe flowed from 2015 to 2018, when Kehoe was Senate Majority Leader, with heavy influence over the body’s legislative agenda. Before his stint as Majority Leader, Kehoe sat on the Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee, which considered bills regarding the state’s utilities. Kehoe served as the committee’s chair in 2015, helping to set the state’s energy policy landscape before resigning to serve as Majority Leader. He was the committee’s vice-chair in 2013 and 2014.
As a senator, Kehoe repeatedly voted against strictly regulating greenhouse-gas emissions, including supporting HCR 42 in 2011 which “urge[s] the United States Congress to adopt legislation prohibiting EPA [the Environmental Protection Agency], by any means necessary, from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.”
For the past six years, Kehoe has served as lieutenant governor.
Since 2010, Kehoe’s candidate committee has also taken $15,225 from Spire and its predecessor Laclede; $7,575 from Evergy and its predecessor Kansas City Power & Light; $23,300 from Liberty and its predecessor Empire, another utility in the state; and $19,000 from the Missouri Energy Development Association, a now-defunct association of Missouri’s investor-owned utilities whose mission was “to be the consummate advocate for Missouri’s Investor-Owned Utility Companies and their strategic partners.”
In total, utilities and their associated PACs have donated $438,325 to the American Dream PAC since its launch in 2019, more than 4% of the group’s fundraising, and have given $156,350 directly to Kehoe’s official campaign account over his career.
*Donation amounts include both corporate and employee PAC donations
Email communications reveal a cozy relationship with utilities
A review of communications between Kehoe’s staff and Missouri’s utilities since Kehoe became Lieutenant Governor reveals a close working relationship.
Ameren lobbyists have drafted talking points for Kehoe’s public appearances intended to garner favorable media coverage about Ameren, written multiple complimentary profiles on Kehoe with his staff’s input, and drafted a quote praising Ameren for him in an article posted to POWERforward, Ameren’s blog and newsletter service. Kehoe also appointed Martin Lyons—CEO of Ameren and then-President and Chairman of Ameren Missouri—to join Missouri’s “Economic Restart” working group where he influenced Missouri’s return-to-work policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of Spire’s STL pipeline. In response, Spire launched a substantial public messaging campaign to create “panic and confusion” around a pending pipeline shutdown. During this time a Spire lobbyist drafted a letter of support which Kehoe then sent to FERC under his own name, lauding the pipeline and arguing for its temporary certification. Spire’s influence campaign also targeted Parson, the governor, who joined Kehoe in sending a supportive letter to FERC.
Kehoe also serves on the board of directors for Heat Up St. Louis, a non-profit that distributes funding to help households cover their bills. Heat Up St. Louis received $860,000 from the Ameren Charitable Trust from 2014 to 2022 according to IRS Forms and at least $2.74 million from 2016 to the present directly from Ameren Missouri according to press releases and news coverage. Ameren has also donated thousands of air-conditioning units worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Heat Up St. Louis was part of a coalition that advocated for legislation that granted utilities greater leeway in how they set rates. The nonprofit has co-hosted events and photo opportunities with Ameren where Kehoe received positive press, and Heat Up St. Louis has drafted Kehoe’s speaking notes and talking points. Tara Oglesby, Ameren Missouri’s vice president of customer experience, also sits on Heat Up St. Louis’s board.
Ameren has leveraged its charitable giving to influence politics for years, including to fight energy efficiency standards in Illinois and to advocate for the Missouri law that gives utilities greater control over rates.
Utility executives also padding Kehoe’s coffers
In addition to contributions from Ameren’s corporate accounts and affiliated PACs, Ameren executives have donated to Kehoe.
Nineteen members of Ameren’s senior leadership and executive team donated a combined $12,250 to Kehoe on June 11 of this year. Similarly, on June 30, 2020, sixteen Ameren executives and leaders donated a total of $11,250 to Kehoe. Four additional members of Ameren’s leadership donated a combined $2,000 at other times that June. Donors include Ameren Missouri President Mark Birk along with several vice presidents at the utility, its general counsel, and its controller.
The data that informed this analysis are available here.
Including the June 2020 and 2024 executive and leadership giving sprees, Kehoe has received at least $44,570 in contributions from Ameren executives and senior leadership over his career.
A stark contrast with Kehoe’s opponent
Crystal Quade, the Democrat running against Kehoe in the governor’s race, has taken far less campaign cash from utilities and related PACs. A review of state campaign finance records showed $7,000 in donations to Quade and her associated PAC from Spire and its official PAC. Quade does not appear to have received money from Ameren, Evergy, or Liberty or their official PACs.
Quade introduced legislation this year to allow large electricity consumers to directly purchase electricity from developers of renewable energy facilities and has been endorsed by the environmental non-profit Sierra Club for “vot[ing] in support of environmental stewardship thirty seven times out of thirty seven opportunities.”
Methodology
Campaign finance data were obtained via the Missouri Ethics Commission’s Campaign Finance search tool. This analysis is based on quarterly, pre-election, and post-election campaign finance disclosures required by the state and filed between 2010 and October 15, 2024. Those disclosures listed contributions from committees regardless of the amount, and from individuals over $100.
The Energy and Policy Institute (EPI) reviewed filings for Ameren Missouri Political Action Committee and Evergy Employee PowerPAC – Missouri, American Dream PAC, and Citizens To Elect Mike Kehoe in their entirety. EPI included contributions from both the corporations themselves and their affiliated PACs in utility contribution totals.
A review of campaign finance filings for Missouri Energy Development Association, Missouri’s Energy Future, and the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives confirmed that their funding overwhelmingly comes from utilities and their PACs. In the case of Missouri’s Energy Future PAC, the only funder during 2024 based on the most recently filed disclosures is Ameren Missouri.
Utilities’ executives and senior leadership were identified by their stated occupation on campaign finance forms, which requires donors to list their employer and position. Senior leadership includes executive positions, vice presidents, and directors.
Photo credit: Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe’s Facebook page. Grayscale added for clarity.
The post Missouri utilities pump more than $400,000 into Kehoe gubernatorial bid appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute.
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