Kentucky Utilities is applying with the state’s Public Service Commission to increase its utility rates by 11.5%, or $226.1 million in revenue. If that’s approved, the average customer would see their electric bill increase by $18.15 per month.
A KU spokesperson says the rate hike is necessary to upgrade the utility’s infrastructure and technology, and to keep pace with inflation.
The PSC hosted a public hearing in Lexington to hear from customers who might be impacted.
Max Moran is a Germantown city commissioner and spoke at the meeting. He says he’s concerned the rate increase would put a financial burden on his constituents.
“My concern is for the people of our society that are on a fixed income,” Moran said. “More specifically, my worry is, for these people, will they still be able to afford their electricity bills should this increase pass?”
KU also wants to increase its energy load to accommodate proposed AI data centers. Included in the proposal is a tariff for “high-load” customers, which requires them to sign a 15-year contract and have them pay for 80% of their reserve power.
But some at the hearing pushed back against the idea that such investments are necessary.
“We're talking about massive investment into this infrastructure, massive investment into money that the Kentucky ratepayer will be paying, but then, if the data centers don't come, we're still stuck with that,” Maysville resident Dana Casey said.
The filing also includes a cut to KU’s metering compensation rate, which credits customers who use rooftop solar for the energy they generate but don’t use. Advocate groups like Fayette Alliance and Kentuckians for Energy Democracy say it would curb a big incentive for residents interested in renewable energy.
“This change would make it much less economically feasible for rooftop solar,” Fayette Alliance Executive Director Brittany Roethemeyer said. “Quite simply, these cuts would ensure that it's not an economically viable option for creating energy.”
The Public Service Commission will make a final order on the case by the end of March. Other proposed public hearings are scheduled in Middlesboro on Oct. 16, Madisonville on Oct. 30 and Frankfort on Nov. 3.
