While electricity bills for most Kentuckians have increased this year, some Indiana customers are seeing their bills go down.
Indiana Michigan Power said Wednesday its roughly 425,000 residential customers in Indiana will see their bills decrease in 2027 if state regulators approve the company’s plan.
Those Indiana customers with average monthly usage would save about $8 a month, or $100 for the year. Further, Indiana Michigan proposes to freeze customer rates for three years.
That’s in contrast with Kentucky Power, whose average customers now pay $11 more a month following the approval by state regulators earlier this year of a rate increase.
Indiana Michigan and Kentucky Power are subsidiaries of American Electric Power. The Ohio-based company’s CEO, Bill Ferhman, received more compensation last year than any CEO of a publicly traded U.S. electric utility.
According to Heatmap, Indiana Michigan’s average customer bill in July was $160. The average Kentucky Power bill was $244 last month.
Indiana Michigan says load growth, including demand from data centers, helps make the reductions possible. Kentucky Power, meanwhile, has seen its customer base shrink.
Sarah Lynch, a Kentucky Power spokeswoman, said economic development would help ease residential electricity costs.
“The ultimate goal with any economic development, including the addition of large loads such as data centers,” she said, “is to positively impact rates and make electricity more affordable for our customers.”
Kentucky Power remains heavily reliant on coal generation, while Indiana Michigan has a more diverse portfolio, including coal, gas, hydro, wind and solar.
Indiana Michigan operates one coal plant, in Rockport, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Kentucky. The Rockport plant is scheduled to retire at the end of 2028.
A natural gas plant will be constructed at the Rockport site. Pending state approvals, construction would begin next year, with the plant operational by 2030.
Kentucky Power continues to invest in its Mitchell coal plant in West Virginia. The 55-year-old facility has a structurally unsound concrete cooling tower that will cost $191 million to replace.
A $51 million U.S. Department of Energy grant will help offset that cost, but customers of Kentucky Power and Wheeling Power, which jointly own the plant, will pay for the balance.
If Kentucky Power’s plan is approved, customers will pay $3.64 more each month.
