Liberty (Empire District) electric rates and bills in Missouri
Liberty (Empire District)'s 144,059 residential customers in Missouri paid an average of 14.77¢ per kWh in 2025, for an average bill of $154.21 a month on 1,044 kWh.1 Over the last 12 months (Sep 2025–Aug 2026) the average was 14.82¢, and 16.30¢ in August 2026.2
EIA-861 2025 final (released October 7, 2026) and EIA's monthly utility survey through August 2026 (preliminary); next monthly update expected November 24, 2026. Averages are revenue divided by kWh, all charges included: not the rate printed in a tariff.
15 of 115 Missouri counties served (EIA-861 2025)
Liberty's southwest Missouri homes paid an average of 14.77¢ per kWh in 2025, the highest of the state's five largest utilities, and their average monthly bill of $154.211 was the highest of the five too. A rate increase approved in January 2026 was held back until Liberty fixed its billing problems, and new tariffs took effect in August 2026.
What Liberty's homes pay per kWh
Liberty is the trade name of The Empire District Electric Company, the investor-owned utility of southwest Missouri. It delivered and sold electricity to 144,059 Missouri homes in 2025, 5.2%1 of the state's residential customers. Three EIA figures describe what those homes paid, each for a different period:
| Period | Average residential price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar 2025 | 14.77¢1 | EIA-861, final |
| 12 months, September 2025 to August 2026 | 14.82¢ per kWh | EIA-861M, 2026 months preliminary |
| August 20263 only | 16.30¢ per kWh2 | EIA-861M, preliminary |
Each one is average revenue per kWh: Liberty's total residential billing (customer charge, energy charges, fuel adjustment, riders) over total residential kWh. None of them is a price printed in Liberty's tariff, and since nearly all of these homes are on time-of-use plans, each figure blends peak and off-peak hours. The annual and 12-month averages are the ones to compare with other utilities.
Among the 32 Missouri utilities with at least 10,000 residential customers, Liberty's 2025 average was the 10th highest, 11.1% above the Missouri average. Nationally it sits mid-table: 85th lowest of 177 US utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers, close to their median of 15.07¢ per kWh, and 16.9% below the national average for investor-owned utilities (17.78¢ per kWh1). Liberty is expensive for Missouri, not for the country.
The dearest of Missouri's big five, per kWh and per month
Missouri has 51 utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers. In 2025 Liberty's homes paid the highest average price of the five and, because they also used more electricity than the others, the highest average bill:
| 2025, residential | Average price | Use per home, a month | Average monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty (Empire District) | 14.77¢ | 1,044 kWh | $154.21 |
| Ameren Missouri | 13.26¢ | 1,032 kWh | $136.92 |
| Evergy Missouri West | 12.10¢ | 996 kWh | $120.51 |
| Evergy Metro | 13.63¢ | 818 kWh | $111.44 |
| City Utilities of Springfield | 11.65¢ | 866 kWh | $100.801 |
| Missouri, all utilities | 13.30¢4 | 1,038 kWh | $137.975 |
The nearest comparison is geographic. City Utilities of Springfield, the municipal utility, reports customers only in Greene County6, which is also one of Liberty's counties, and its homes paid 11.65¢ per kWh on average, the 3rd lowest in the state. A household cannot pick between them. EIA counted 01 Missouri homes buying power from a competing supplier in 2025, because the state has no retail choice, and each utility's territory map settles who serves an address.
The 2026 rate case: approved in January, billed from August
Liberty filed for higher rates in November 2024. On January 14, 2026 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved a settlement that raises Liberty's annual revenue, with the increase phased in over three years. The commission attached a condition: the increase could start only after Liberty met specific billing and customer-service metrics for three consecutive months. Its order describes the problems behind that condition, from delayed and duplicated bills to wrong customer charges, which followed Liberty's switch in April 2024 to a new billing system, Customer First, used across the subsidiaries of its parent, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. The commission concluded that the billing problems "require improvement before a rate increase can be authorized."
On July 15, 2026 the commission approved the compliance tariff sheets, effective August 3, 2026. Both orders sit in the case docket on the commission's EFIS system. Our rate increase guide traces a decision like this from docket to bill.
Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Residential revenue divided by kWh in each month, as reported to EIA's monthly survey (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary).
Show the numbers
| Month | Liberty (Empire District) (¢/kWh) | kWh per customer | Bill per customer |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | 13.53¢ | 1,545 | $209.08 |
| February 2025 | 13.82¢ | 1,245 | $172.05 |
| March 2025 | 14.16¢ | 1,139 | $161.26 |
| April 2025 | 14.83¢ | 708 | $104.92 |
| May 2025 | 15.45¢ | 668 | $103.22 |
| June 2025 | 15.38¢ | 980 | $150.64 |
| July 2025 | 15.59¢ | 1,429 | $222.76 |
| August 2025 | 15.37¢ | 1,239 | $190.44 |
| September 2025 | 15.80¢ | 849 | $134.11 |
| October 2025 | 15.62¢ | 800 | $124.99 |
| November 2025 | 15.00¢ | 778 | $116.65 |
| December 2025 | 13.99¢ | 1,231 | $172.21 |
| January 2026 | 13.28¢ | 1,365 | $181.25 |
| February 2026 | 13.02¢ | 1,062 | $138.19 |
| March 2026 | 14.42¢ | 796 | $114.89 |
| April 2026 | 14.68¢ | 682 | $100.18 |
| May 2026 | 14.85¢ | 702 | $104.34 |
| June 2026 | 15.30¢ | 927 | $141.82 |
| July 2026 | 15.91¢ | 1,308 | $208.10 |
| August 2026 | 16.30¢ | 1,325 | $215.98 |
The new tariffs can appear in EIA's monthly figures only from the August 2026 data onward, and only inside an average. In August 2026 Liberty's residential average was 16.30¢ per kWh, +6.1% on the same month a year earlier, against +4.6%3 for Missouri as a whole; the month is preliminary, and an average cannot separate base rates from the fuel adjustment and riders. The 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026 averaged 14.82¢ per kWh2, almost level with calendar 2025.
Before the rate case, the annual average had slipped: from 14.99¢ per kWh in 2024 to 14.77¢ per kWh in 2025 (−1.5%), while Missouri's statewide average rose 3.0%4. The average bill still went up, from $151.34 to $154.21 (+1.9%), because use per home rose from 1,010 kWh7 to 1,044 kWh1 a month.
A winter-peaking utility
Statewide, use per home over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026 peaked in July 20263, at Evergy Metro in July 2026 and at Evergy Missouri West in July 2026. Liberty's homes used the most electricity in winter instead: their use peaked in January 2026 at 1,365 kWh, with an average bill of $181.25, and bottomed out in April 2026 at 682 kWh and $100.182.
Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility. kWh per residential customer in each month (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary). The table adds the average bill and price for the month.
Show the numbers
| Month | kWh per customer | Bill per customer | ¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 849 | $134.11 | 15.80¢ |
| October 2025 | 800 | $124.99 | 15.62¢ |
| November 2025 | 778 | $116.65 | 15.00¢ |
| December 2025 | 1,231 | $172.21 | 13.99¢ |
| January 2026 | 1,365 | $181.25 | 13.28¢ |
| February 2026 | 1,062 | $138.19 | 13.02¢ |
| March 2026 | 796 | $114.89 | 14.42¢ |
| April 2026 | 682 | $100.18 | 14.68¢ |
| May 2026 | 702 | $104.34 | 14.85¢ |
| June 2026 | 927 | $141.82 | 15.30¢ |
| July 2026 | 1,308 | $208.10 | 15.91¢ |
| August 2026 | 1,325 | $215.98 | 16.30¢ |
Ameren Missouri also peaked in January 2026, which makes the two directly comparable. Ameren's homes used slightly more that month (1,404 kWh) yet paid less ($146.25), so a winter kWh cost Liberty's customers noticeably more on average. In the Census survey 39.6%8 of Missouri households heat mainly with electricity (2025, statewide, an estimate with a margin of error); EIA's utility data do not say how many of Liberty's homes do. Averaged over the 12 months, Liberty's homes used 987 kWh and paid $146.302 a month.
Time-of-use for nearly every home, and more rooftop solar
In EIA's 2025 meter survey, 143,351 Liberty homes were on a time-of-use rate: 99.5% of its residential customers, with advanced meters at 99.8%. That is the highest share among Missouri's investor-owned utilities (Evergy Metro 89.5%, Ameren Missouri 84.6%, Evergy Missouri West 78.1%) and helps put Missouri's statewide share of 53.2% 4th highest9 among the states. The rate design goes back to Liberty's previous rate case: the settlement terms the commission approved on March 9, 2022 refer to "generally-applicable time-variant rates" developed in that case, as distinct from the opt-in time-of-use plan Liberty had proposed. EIA's survey counts customers, not prices: the hours and per-kWh charges of each plan sit in Liberty's tariff, and the time-of-use guide works through their effect on a bill.
Rooftop solar is also more common on Liberty's lines than at Missouri's other large utilities. EIA counted 5,208 residential net-metered installations in 2025, 36.2 per 1,000 customers, against 11.3 statewide and 19.5 at Evergy Missouri West, the next highest of the large utilities. Their capacity totalled 77.8 megawatts9.
Fewer outage minutes than most of Missouri
Counting every event, Liberty's customers were without power for an average of 167 minutes in 2025, fewer than the Missouri average of 369 minutes, with 1.10 interruptions per customer against 1.56 statewide. Leave out major event days (storm days that IEEE 1366 lets utilities report on their own line) and the figure was 110 minutes, against 115 minutes10 for Missouri. A single year's total depends on its storms; Ameren Missouri and City Utilities of Springfield, with large major-event totals in 2025, show how far one bad year can move the figure.
Where Liberty serves, and business customers
Liberty reported Missouri customers in 15 counties in 2025: Barry County, Barton County, Cedar County, Christian County, Dade County, Dallas County, Greene County, Hickory County, Jasper County, Lawrence County, McDonald County, Polk County and 3 others6. In every one of them at least one other utility also reports service, so a county or ZIP code does not settle which utility serves a home; Liberty's service map does. The company operates in the SPP1 wholesale market. Empire District also serves customers outside Missouri, including in Oklahoma, where the Oklahoma Corporation Commission regulates its rates; EIA reports each state separately, and this page covers Missouri only.
Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 15 counties. Counts whole counties even where the utility serves only part of one; check the utility's own service-area map for an address.
Show the numbers
| County | Other utilities reporting service |
|---|---|
| Barry County | Ozark Electric Cooperative, New-Mac Electric Cooperative, Carroll Electric Cooperative Corp, Barry Electric Cooperative, City of Monett |
| Barton County | Evergy Missouri West, Sac-Osage Electric Cooperative, Barton County Electric Cooperative, City of Lamar, City of Liberal, City of Mindenmines |
| Cedar County | Evergy Missouri West, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Sac-Osage Electric Cooperative, Barton County Electric Cooperative, City of El Dorado Springs |
| Christian County | White River Valley El Cooperative, Ozark Electric Cooperative, Webster Electric Cooperative, City of Nixa |
| Dade County | Evergy Missouri West, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Ozark Electric Cooperative, Sac-Osage Electric Cooperative, Barton County Electric Cooperative, Lockwood Water & Light Company |
| Dallas County | Southwest Electric Cooperative, Laclede Electric Cooperative, Webster Electric Cooperative |
| Greene County | City Utilities of Springfield, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Ozark Electric Cooperative, Webster Electric Cooperative |
| Hickory County | Southwest Electric Cooperative, Sac-Osage Electric Cooperative |
| Jasper County | Ozark Electric Cooperative, New-Mac Electric Cooperative, City of Carthage, Barton County Electric Cooperative |
| Lawrence County | Ozark Electric Cooperative, New-Mac Electric Cooperative, City of Monett, City of Mount Vernon |
| McDonald County | New-Mac Electric Cooperative, Carroll Electric Cooperative Corp, Barry Electric Cooperative |
| Polk County | Southwest Electric Cooperative, Ozark Electric Cooperative, Sac-Osage Electric Cooperative |
| St. Clair County | Evergy Missouri West, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association, Sac-Osage Electric Cooperative, City of Osceola |
| Stone County | White River Valley El Cooperative, Ozark Electric Cooperative, Carroll Electric Cooperative Corp, City of Crane |
| Taney County | White River Valley El Cooperative, Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, Carroll Electric Cooperative Corp |
Businesses paid less per kWh than homes in 2025: 12.44¢ per kWh for Liberty's 25,278 commercial accounts and 9.19¢ per kWh for its 256 industrial ones. Across all 169,593 Missouri accounts the average was 12.73¢ per kWh1.
Help with heating and cooling bills comes through the federal LIHEAP program, which allocated $92.4 million12 to Missouri for fiscal 2026. The Missouri page puts Liberty in the statewide picture.
Liberty in Missouri: questions readers ask
What is Liberty's electric rate per kWh in Missouri?
EIA publishes what customers paid on average, not tariff lines. Liberty's residential customers paid 14.77¢ per kWh1 in calendar 2025 and 14.82¢ per kWh2 over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026 (2026 months preliminary). Both figures are residential revenue divided by kWh, so the customer charge, fuel adjustment and riders are included and peak and off-peak hours are blended. The per-kWh prices of each plan are in Liberty's tariff on file with the Missouri Public Service Commission.
What is the average Liberty electric bill in Missouri?
$154.21 a month in 2025 for 1,044 kWh1 of use, and $146.30 over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026. The highest month in that period was January 2026, at $181.25; the lowest was April 2026, at $100.182.
Did Liberty raise electric rates in 2026?
Yes. The Missouri Public Service Commission approved a settlement in Liberty's rate case on January 14, 2026, with the increase phased in over three years, but only after Liberty met billing and customer-service metrics for three consecutive months. On July 15, 2026 the commission approved the new tariff sheets, effective August 3, 2026. In EIA's preliminary data the August 20263 residential average was 16.30¢ per kWh, +6.1%2 on the same month a year earlier.
Is Liberty on time-of-use rates?
Almost every Liberty home in Missouri is. EIA counted 143,351 residential customers enrolled in time-of-use pricing in 2025, 99.5%9 of the total, the highest share among Missouri's investor-owned utilities. The plans and their hours are in Liberty's tariff.
Is Liberty the same company as Empire District Electric?
Yes. The utility's legal name is The Empire District Electric Company, and it does business as Liberty. Its parent company is Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., according to the Missouri Public Service Commission.
Related pages
Sources
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; table sales_ult_cust_2025 and _2026; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state; table sales_revenue.xlsx (EPM Table 5.6.A); January 2001 to 2026-08; months since January 2026 preliminary; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Historical state data, annual sales, revenue and customers; table HS861 2010-.xlsx; 2010-2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, average monthly bill by state; table Average_Bill_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, service territory; table Service_Territory_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2024 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2024; 2024, final (file updated December 3, 2025); released December 3, 2025. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates, house heating fuel, table B25040; 2025; released October 29, 2026. data.census.gov
- EIA-861 2025, advanced meters, dynamic pricing and net metering; table Advanced_Meters, Dynamic_Pricing, Net_Metering 2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, reliability; table Reliability_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties; table cb_2025_us_county_5m; cb_2021_us_county_5m; 2025 (2021 for Connecticut). www.census.gov
- HHS, LIHEAP funding releases to states; table FY2027 first release; FY2026 final; FY2027 first release (October 9, 2026); FY2026 total; released October 9, 2026. acf.gov
Margins of error (±) are at the 90% confidence level. A difference is called significant only when it passes the Census Bureau's test at that level. How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.