By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
East Kentucky Power customers may see lower and less frequent rate increases on their monthly power bills due to a proposed settlement Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced recently.
East Kentucky Power sells power to Farmers RECC that then provides power to its roughly 14,800 customers in Barren County.
The proposed settlement would “protect Kentuckians from double-digit rate increases that are facing families in other parts of the country” with residential customers seeing an increase of less than $5 on their monthly bills, according to an attorney general press release. East Kentucky Power also agreed not to seek another rate increase on families for at least three years, the release stated.
“Affordable and reliable energy is Kentucky’s competitive advantage, and it’s the reason so many families are proud to call the Commonwealth home,” Coleman said. “This settlement will preserve affordability while also building out our energy capacity to fuel new jobs and economic growth for a generation.”
Kentucky’s Public Service Commission must first approve the proposed settlement. The average American residential price for electricity has risen nearly 34 percent since 2020, but Kentucky’s residential rate increases are far below the national average, the release stated.
The proceeds from the settlement will be used to fuel the power cooperative’s $2 billion capital investment plan that will build two new power stations and will upgrade an existing coal plant to be co-fired with natural gas, according to the release.
