PSC Approves Agreement and Grants Permission for Liberty to Construct New Gas Generation Facility -- pr-26-80

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.---  On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, the Missouri Public Service Commission issued an  Order approving an agreement and granting a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) to The Empire District Electric Company d/b/a Liberty to construct, install, own, operate, maintain, and otherwise control an approximately 250-megawatt simple cycle F-class combustion turbine facility at Liberty’s State Line Power Station in Joplin, Missouri. The Staff of the Commission, Liberty, the Office of the Public Counsel, and Renew Missouri Advocates were the only parties to this case and were all signatories of the unanimous agreement.

The Commission found that the proposed gas generation facility is needed to support Liberty’s resource adequacy obligations as required by Southwest Power Pool. The Commission also found that Liberty has the operational experience and financial ability to construct and operate the facility, and that the project promotes the public interest with the conditions set forth in the agreement.

The project would be Liberty’s first to utilize construction work in progress (CWIP) as authorized under Senate Bill 4 (2025) approved by lawmakers last year. As the agreement was approved by all parties, including the Staff of the Commission and the Office of Public Counsel, CWIP will help save customers on the total costs of the project by reducing interest costs that would otherwise make the project more expensive. The utilization of CWIP will also help ensure the project stays on time and on budget, and if deviations occur, Liberty could face administrative and financial consequences. Any costs related to the project, including CWIP, would have to be fully reviewed and approved by the Commission in a separate future rate case before any costs could be recovered from customers.

Key points of the agreement are as follows:

• Liberty must seek to enhance low-income customer participation in energy programs; 
• Liberty must utilize applicable sales tax exemptions for equipment used in the construction of the new electric generation facility;
• Liberty must evaluate opportunities to minimize property taxes associated with the project;
• Liberty must provide quarterly updates on the development and execution of its Request for Proposals (RFP) process for subcontractors;
• Liberty must provide quarterly updates on the progress of upgrades to natural gas pipeline facilities needed to deliver gas to the new generation facility;
• Liberty must provide quarterly budget reports and projections of potential cost impacts related to fuel, materials, or equipment that may exceed any estimated contingency accounts ; and
• Liberty must seek to include guaranteed not-to-exceed cost provisions in the procurement and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction agreements with its primary contractor.

Liberty provides electric service to approximately 180,000 customers in southwest Missouri.