A coalition of community and environmental groups say customer incomes have not kept up with the increasing cost of electricity.
Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities have asked the Kentucky Public Service Commission to raise customer rates.
KU rates have risen more than 23% in the past five years, the groups say, while LG&E rates have gone up 20% in that time.
Meanwhile, incomes for the lowest earners have increased 13% in Kentucky and 9% in Jefferson County, according to Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, the Kentucky Solar Energy Society, the Metropolitan Housing Coalition and the Mountain Association.
LG&E and KU have reached a settlement proposal with Attorney General Russell Coleman that would raise the average electricity customer’s bill by $9 a month in KU’s territory and $5 in LG&E’s.
That’s about half what the companies were seeking. Still, the groups say even moderate income customers are having trouble paying for household expenses, and federal heating assistance is threatened with cuts to staff and funding.
Electricity affordability has become a major issue nationwide and especially in central Appalachia.
The West Virginia Public Service Commission recently declined to allow an increase in rates for Appalachian Power customers after an onslaught of public opposition.
In eastern Kentucky, Appalachian Power’s sister company Kentucky Power is asking state regulators to raise rates by 15%. Kentucky Power customers already pay the highest monthly bills in the region.
According to testimony to the Kentucky Public Service Commission, Kentucky Power’s rates have spiked 40% in the past five years.
On Monday, the Kentucky commission will hold a hearing in Frankfort on East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s proposal to increase the average residential bill by less than $5 a month.
Electric utilities have justified their rate proposals by citing inflation, high interest rates and the increase in demand for electricity from artificial intelligence and data centers.
LG&E and KU is a financial supporter of WEKU.
