Exhibit 23.01



INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
Ambac Assurance Corporation:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement (No.
333-40362) of Laclede Gas Company (the "Registrant") and in the Prospectus
Supplement of the Registrant (the "Prospectus Supplement"), via the Form 8-K of
the Registrant dated June 21, 2001, of our report dated January 22, 2001 on the
consolidated financial statements of Ambac Assurance Corporation and
subsidiaries as of December 31, 2000 and 1999, and for each of the years in the
three-year period ended December 31, 2000, which report appears in the Form 8-K
of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. which was filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on March 19, 2001 and to the reference to our firm under the heading
"Experts" in the Prospectus Supplement.

/s/ KPMG LLP
New York, New York
June 21, 2001