MO Empire District utility deposit bonds.
2% of the bond amount.
A new or existing Empire District Electric and/or Gas Company (operating as Liberty) customer who would otherwise owe a cash security deposit can instead post a utility deposit bond — a written guarantee that functions as a substitute for the deposit under the company’s Missouri Public Service Commission-approved tariff and, for residential accounts, 4 CSR 240-13.030. The company sets the deposit amount from your estimated or historical bill; premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and the application collects no credit information.
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Apply to filed in one sitting.
No cash tied up, no long underwriting queue — enter your amount, pay, and submit to Empire District. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your account and service address details, the deposit-equivalent amount Empire District (Liberty) set, and the effective date — that is the entire application.
Approved
The application collects no credit information, and most applications approve instantly. Pricing is 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
Submit to Empire District
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to submit to Empire District Electric and/or Gas Company in lieu of the cash deposit it would otherwise hold. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the company insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the utility deposit bond actually does
Missouri residential utility service is governed by 4 CSR 240-13.030 ("Deposits and Guarantees of Payment"), which lets a Public Service Commission-regulated utility require a deposit as a condition of new or restored service — for example when an applicant has an unpaid past-due bill or cannot establish an acceptable credit rating — and which separately defines a guarantee as "a written promise from a third party to assume liability up to a specified amount for delinquent charges." A surety bond functions as exactly that written guarantee. Nonresidential (business) accounts are governed instead by Empire District’s own Missouri PSC-approved tariff, which similarly accepts a surety bond, letter of credit, or other approved security in lieu of a cash deposit.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the customer and principal), the surety carrier, and Empire District Electric and/or Gas Company (the obligee). If your account becomes delinquent, the company can draw on the bond up to its face amount rather than holding your cash; the surety then looks to you to make it whole. It is a credit substitute, not insurance for you.
Under 4 CSR 240-13.030(4)–(5), a residential deposit — and so a guarantee that replaces one — is capped at two times your highest bill or four times your average bill over the prior twelve months, whichever the tariff states, or a fraction of estimated annual usage for a new account. Enter the deposit-equivalent figure Empire District gave you; your premium is priced at 2% of that amount, $100 minimum, and the application collects no credit information.
You need this bond if you are
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual underwriting fields. The application collects no credit information, and your price — 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum — is set at application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Missouri bonds.
Replace the cash deposit with a bond.
2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. No credit fields, priced at application, and ready to submit to Empire District the same day.