Power Bills On The Rise Again

Beginning in July, the amount you pay for electricity from Kentucky Power will increase by 6.37%.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission approved the addition of a “securitized surcharge” to the bills of nearly 160,000 homes and businesses in eastern Kentucky served by the utility.  

According to some calculations, customers in Breathitt and other counties will see an approximate $14 per month increase on their bills.  The new charge will generate an estimated $90 million for the company. 

Kentucky Power filed a request in 2023 to add the new charge to all its bills to “recover” the expense of the Big Sandy plant closure, deferred storm costs, and “under-recovered purchased power ride costs.”

The added charge is expected to remain on the bill for the next twenty years.

In 2023, the Kentucky General Assembly approved Senate Bill 192, which allows companies to use the securitization process.  Under the plan, the company would issue bonds to cover costs and then use the collected surcharge to repay the loans.

Kentucky Power said in its filings with the state that the bond issue was needed to avoid a 13.13% increase.