Empire District Electric Company which serves parts of Dallas and Polk County has announced an electric rate increase. The Missouri Public Service Commission announced that for a residence using a thousand-kilowatt hours a month the electric rate will increase by about 48 cents a month. The original request from Empire would have increased rates by about $7.85 a month. In addition to the rate change, the Public Service Commission directed Empire to submit quarterly reports on the number of estimated meter readings, report the number of estimated meter readings exceeding 3 consecutive estimates, and report on company and contracted meter reading staff levels. The directive was issued in response to complaints at local public hearings which were held earlier this year. The new rate for Empire District Electric Customers will take effect on September 16th.