skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Eastern KY Residents May Face Higher Utility Bills

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 12, 2020   

WHITESBURG, Ky. -- Eastern Kentuckians soon may see their monthly utility bills go up by more than twenty dollars, if a proposed rate increase by Kentucky Power is approved by the state Public Service Commission.

Critics say the move would hurt already struggling residents and put energy-efficient options such as rooftop solar out of reach for communities.

This would be the third rate increase the company has proposed in five years.

Amber Bailey, a Letcher County resident who works as a server, said when COVID-19 began spreading in March, she pocketed $350 a week.

Since the pandemic, business has dried up and her income has been cut in half and she struggles to pay her bills.

"Why is the utility company asking for more money when we're not able to do basic bill pay right now?" Bailey inquired. "A lot of it has to do with COVID. I mean, we were already so hard hit by the closing of all the mines, and now it's gotten even worse."

Kentucky Power said it needs the rate hike to help pay for a $36 million dollar investment in smart meters.

The proposal does include bill forgiveness on accounts that were more than 30 days late as of May 28.

Anyone can comment on the issue at one of the virtual public hearings the Public Service Commission is hosting on Friday Nov. 13 and Monday Nov. 16, or they can email the commission at psc.info@ky.gov.

Along with a 25% rate increase, the new proposal calls for gutting net-metering, the one-for-one kilowatt credit on electric bills for solar customers.

Chris Woolery, residential energy coordinator for the Mountain Association, said the move would discourage businesses and local governments in the region from investing in rooftop solar, and make it harder for residential customers to reduce their energy bills.

"Rooftop solar is one of the few things that eastern Kentuckians have left accessible to respond to these increasing bills and consistent rate changes," Woolery contended.

Woolery believes the utility's proposal is unfair to the more than 165,000 eastern Kentucky residents who rely on Kentucky Power, especially as households try to stay afloat amid the economic depression from the pandemic.

"This is not the time to put the burden that should be on the investors of utilities, on the backs of eastern Kentuckians," Woolery asserted.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office recently submitted a testimony on the issue. In a written statement, a spokesperson for the Attorney General said the Attorney General's Office of Rate Intervention continues to represent Kentuckians in matters related to utility rates, and said the testimony strongly opposes Kentucky Power's proposed rate increases and argues that Kentucky's non-solar utility rate payers should not have to subsidize the operational utility costs of solar participants.

Critics disagree with the Attorney General's position that non-solar customers subsidize solar customers, and argue the Attorney General's opposition to the rate hike isn't strong enough.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021