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A Kansas City Documenter attended the Aug. 5 Board of Public Utilities meeting and took fact-checked notes. A few things stood out:

• Combined electric and water revenue increased 8% to about $96 million compared with the same period last year, even though overall electric use was essentially flat and water use declined about 2.5%.
• Industrial electric and water use declined. BPU’s CFO said there are only about 16 industrial accounts, so changes among large customers can have an outsized effect.
• About 79% of BPU’s capital budget remained unspent halfway through the year. Officials said much of that spending is connected to debt expected to be issued later this year for major equipment purchases.
• BPU is also planning a 5-megawatt solar generation facility near the Nearman Creek Substation. About $21 million is included in the 2026 budget for solar projects, with the goal of providing local power and reducing exposure to changing regional energy prices.
• BPU’s summer internship program has grown from two interns in 2024 to 11 interns across eight departments in 2026.

Some questions we're interested in following: If electricity use is flat and water use is down, what’s driving the revenue increase? What will the solar investment ultimately mean for customers? And how much of BPU’s remaining capital budget will actually be spent this year?

Read the full Kansas City Documenters meeting notes here.

What questions about BPU, your utility bill or its upcoming investments would you want reporters to dig into?

This mandatory 2-hour training will introduce you to the Kansas City Documenters community, starting with a walk-through of Documenters.org and our assignment workflow.

You’ll practice core skills relevant to a range of assignments, learn about public meetings law, and collaborate with fellow Documenters.

Upon completion of this workshop you will be certified to apply for paid documenters assignments. Questions? Email documenters@thebeacon.media.

RSVP here: https://kansascity.documenters.org/workshops/new-kansas-city-documenters-orientation-kck-and-kcmo-2364/

The board approved additional spending from the American Royal’s $5 million payment to the Unified Government (UG) as part of its sales tax and revenue (STAR) bond issuance for the American Royal’s new campus.

To read more click here.

If you care about what’s in your soil, you should also care about how decisions get made around it. This event is an opportunity to learn about the issue and better understand where those decisions happen, specifically we'll walk through the public meetings where issues like this are discussed and how you can follow and engage in those conversations. RSVP here.