Missouri Lawsuit Questions Insurance Law’s Effect on Energy Production

A legal center has filed suit against a Missouri commission because it believes a new insurance rule will discourage people from trying to produce their own solar or wind power.

The Great Rivers Environmental Law Center filed suit against the Missouri Public Service Commission in Cole County Circuit Court.

It says a PSC decision that people must carry certain levels of liability insurance if they want to produce power and feed it back to an electric utility is illegal.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Renew Missouri, a citizens’ group that worked to get a law passed last year allowing those who generate alternative energy a way to feed it back to their power utility.

An attorney for PSC, Kevin Thompson, said the agency acted within its authority when it set the insurance requirement.