The Missouri Public Service Commission opened an investigation into whistleblower allegations against natural gas giant Spire.

In late September, The Star was the first to report on a former Spire employee’s claims that his superiors had instructed him on how to hide and even destroy documents to keep them from state regulators.

The documents allegedly contained information that Spire believed would hurt its forthcoming case for raising rates on Missouri natural gas customers.

On Thursday, the Public Service Commission has authorized its staff to investigate further, including accessing Spire’s facilities, reviewing documents and subpoenaing information. The commission’s staff has until Dec. 17 to provide a status report on the investigation and its recommendations.

Both the Public Service Commission’s motion to open an investigation and Spire’s response earlier this month are marked confidential and are not available to the public. Forrest Gossett, Public Service Commission spokesperson, declined to comment on the investigation Thursday.

Spire welcomes investigation, denies wrongdoing

Spire spokesperson Jason Merrill said the company plans to cooperate with the investigation and denied wrongdoing in an emailed statement to The Star.

“We welcome the Missouri Public Service Commission’s investigation into untrue statements made by a former employee regarding the handling of documents,” Merrill said.

He added that the company had conducted its own internal investigation,...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid0FVX3lxTE1KUGhWOEU4OHZqVVZieXJsV0d0...