(AP) -- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An independent political organization has gotten involved in some Missouri Senate campaigns.

The group Missourians Against Higher Utility Rates has mailed campaign pieces leading up to the August 7th primary.

The organization was created in 2009 and opposed legislation that would have allowed utilities to seek permission sooner to recoup financing costs for certain types of power plants.

A 1976 voter-approved law requires utilities to wait until a plant starts producing electricity.

St. Louis-based Ameren supported the legislation, and New-Madrid based smelter Noranda Aluminum Incorporated opposed it.

Noranda gave $78,570 in 2009 to Missourians Against Higher Utility Rates.

The committee largely has been quiet since the 2009 debate but received $275,000 this past Monday from a newly created nonprofit corporation. It is unclear where the corporation got the funds.

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