Lake area residents could soon see an increase in their electric bill as Ameren Missouri is seeking approval for a $264 million dollar rate increase. The company says the increase is needed to cover the costs of various improvements, solar power investments and customer rebates. A company spokesman says the rate increase would amount to an extra ten dollars a month for an average residential customer using eleven hundred kilowatt hours of electricity. Rate increases are subject to approval by the Missouri Public Service Commission and the process could take up to eleven months.