FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Frontier Gas is asking the Kentucky Public Service Commission to reconsider a recent rate decision, arguing the approved rate structure could create major cash flow problems for the utility.

In a motion for rehearing filed with the PSC, Kentucky Frontier says the commission’s April order did not raise monthly customer charges enough to cover the company’s fixed operating costs.

The utility had requested a monthly customer charge of $25, similar to rates charged by larger Kentucky gas companies, but the commission approved a charge of about $17.63 per month. Kentucky Frontier argues that amount would only cover about one-third of its summer operating expenses, when gas usage drops sharply.

The company says it could be forced to borrow at least $300,000 just to make it through the summer months because most of its approved rate increase was tied to gas usage rather than fixed monthly charges. The utility also cited unusually high natural gas costs during this past winter’s cold weather, saying those expenses prevented the company from building up cash reserves needed for lower-usage summer months.

Kentucky Frontier serves about 4,700 customers across several Eastern Kentucky counties, including Pike, Floyd, Johnson, Letcher and Perry counties.

In its original order, the PSC approved a lower overall revenue increase than the utility requested and raised concerns about some of the company’s expenses and affiliate business relationships.

Kentucky Frontier is now asking the commission to raise the monthly customer charge to at least $22.50, or alternatively to approve a revised rate structure aimed at improving year-round cash flow.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Public Service Commission has granted Mountain Water District’s request to decide its request for a rate increase without a public hearing, but is not ready to rule on the matter yet.

In its application filed in November, Mountain Water asked for permission to raise rates across the board. Their proposal would raise residential rates by 22 percent, jumping from about $45 to nearly $55. Commercial and other accounts would also see raises, ranging from 24 to 35 percent, and the wholesale rate charged to Elkhorn City, Jenkins, Martin County and Mingo County would jump 13.5 percent.

Earlier this month, Mountain Water asked the PSC to forego a public hearing on the request, because no one filed to intervene in the case to object to the request.

Mountain Water said its 809-page application and responses to three requests for additional information should be adequate for the PSC to render a decision. The utility also asked the PSC to close the case file except for the submission of final reports.

Last week, the PSC agreed to decide the case without a hearing, but declined to close the case. Instead, the commission ordered Mountain Water to continue to respond to requests for additional information about the application.

No timeline for when the case could be decided was released.

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Sen. Phillip Wheeler is pushing two bills to help mitigate AEP costs.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Mountain Water District is asking the Kentucky Public Service Commission to skip holding a hearing on its current request for a rate increase and issue a ruling based on the case records.

In its application filed in November, Mountain Water asked for permission to raise rates across the board.
Their proposal would raise residential rates by 22 percent, jumping from about $45 to nearly $55. Commercial and other accounts would also see raises, ranging from 24 to 35 percent, and the wholesale rate charged to Elkhorn City, Jenkins, Martin County and Mingo County would jump 13.5 percent.

The utility says there is no need for a hearing on the matter, because no one filed to intervene in the case to object to the request. Mountain Water says its 809-page application and responses to three requests for additional information should be adequate for the PSC to render a decision.

The company also asks the PSC to issue its decision by March 31.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — East Kentucky Power Cooperative has reached a settlement with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office to reduce the amount of the rate increase by about 20 percent from what the company had been seeking.

East Kentucky Power Cooperative, which supplies power to electric co-ops across the state, including Big Sandy RECC and Licking Valley RECC, had been seeking raise rates by 6.94 percent, which would have generated a little less than an additional $80 million.

Under the terms of the settlement, the company has agreed to new rates that would raise nearly $64 million in additional revenue. The impact of those rates would be to raise residential customer bills by 4.95 percent. The Attorney General’s Office says that would translate to an increase of less than $5 a month for the average residential customer.
In addition, East Kentucky Power agreed not to seek another rate increase for at least three years.

The settlement is not yet final and must still be approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Mountain Water District has filed an application with the Kentucky Public Service Commission, asking to raise rates by more than 20 percent.

The application, filed on Monday, would raise residential rates by more than 22 percent. That would bring the average residential customer bill from nearly $45 to nearly $55, an increase of about $10.

Commercial and other types of customers would also see increases, ranging from about 24 percent to nearly 35 percent. The proposal also calls for a 13.5 percent increase to the wholesale rate charged to Elkhorn City, Jenkins, Martin County and Mingo County.

The utility says the increase is necessary “because its current rates do not produce sufficient revenues to meet its reasonable operating expenses, service its long-term and short-term debt and provide for adequate working capital.”

The new rates would go into effect Dec. 10, unless the PSC suspends them during its review.

You can follow the case on the PSC website at https://psc.ky.gov/Case/ViewCaseFilings/2025-00327.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Public Service Commission has scheduled a hearing to consider a rate increase for an Eastern Kentucky natural gas provider.

Kentucky Frontier is seeking to raise residential customer bill by 33 percent. If approved, the average residential bill would go from $35 to $46. The average small commercial bill would rise from $61 to more than $77.

The PSC has scheduled a hearing to consider the request on Jan. 27, beginning at 9 a.m. The hearing will take place in the PSC office in Frankfort.

Kentucky Frontier grew out of the former East Kentucky Utilities in Floyd County and expanded by acquiring more than a dozen small gas utilities in Pike, Floyd, Johnson, Martin, Magoffin, Knott, Letcher, Perry, Breathitt, Lee, Morgan, Jackson and Wolfe counties.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Frontier Gas is the latest utility seeking to raise rates, filing an application to increase residential customer bills by 33 percent.

Kentucky Frontier grew out of the former East Kentucky Utilities in Floyd County and grew to acquire more than a dozen small gas utilities in Pike, Floyd, Johnson, Martin, Magoffin, Knott, Letcher, Perry, Breathitt, Lee, Morgan, Jackson and Wolfe counties.

Now the company is seeking to raise rates to generate an additional $1.1 million. If approved, residential and small commercial customers would see their base charge rise from $13 to $25, and the gas rate rise 4 cents per hundred cubic feet.

Combined with a cut to some surcharges, the average residential bill would rise from nearly $35 to more than $46. The average small commercial bill would rise from $61 to more than $77.

The PSC will now review the application and determine whether to approve, reject or alter the proposed rates.

The case can be followed on the PSC’s website. The case number is 2025-00277.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Public Service Commission has denied Southern Water and Sewer District’s request for a 5.28 percent rate increase. Instead, the commission authorized a rate increase of nearly five times that amount.

At the same time, the commission is ordering the utility to work to resolve its longstanding problems with losing massive amounts of water.

Under the PSC’s order, Southern will see rates climb by 23.23 percent, along with the implementation of a $6.83 water loss surcharge. That means the average residential bill will climb 26.12 percent to $68.80, an increase of $14.25.

The commission’s order limits the water loss surcharge to either five years or until the fee generates $2.2 million. That money will be set aside to deal with the utility’s water loss and cannot be spent without prior PSC approval.

The PSC considers water loss of 15 percent or below to be reasonable. But a review of the past four years shows that Southern has been losing nearly 57 percent of its water. That results in Southern spending about $1 million a year to produce water, with about $600,000 of that amount lost.

The PSC plans to monitor Southern’s efforts to resolve its water-loss problems. The commission gave the utility 150 days to obtain the services of an engineering firm that will develop a 15-to-20-year plan to address its water loss. That plan is required to be filed with the PSC 240 days after the engineering firm is procured. Once that plan has been approved by the PSC, Southern will then be required to file an execution plan.

As reported last week, Southern is also under investigation for implementing a “disconnect fee” without prior approval. While the PSC has now given its approval of that fee, the utility’s manager and board members each face up to $2,500 in fines and removal from their positions if the commission determines they willfully circumvented the approval process.

Copies of the PSC’s rate increase and water-loss plan orders are attached below:

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PIKEVILLE, Ky — The City of Pikeville is notifying utility customers that this month’s utility bills will be delayed due to the unexpected and immediate closure of Professional Mail Services — the company that has handled the printing and mailing of the City’s utility bills since 2017.

City staff completed all required billing work and submitted the necessary data on time, in accordance with the city ordinance and the established schedule. However, PMSI abruptly ceased operations and informed the City that they would not fulfill any outstanding jobs, including this month’s bill mailing. This is the first time PMSI has failed to meet its contractual responsibilities to the City.

“This is an unfortunate situation that was completely outside the control of our customers, our utility staff, or the City of Pikeville,” said City Manager Reggie Hickman. “Our staff did everything necessary to ensure timely billing, and it is deeply disappointing that our longtime contractor, without warning, failed to meet their obligations. We’re treating this with a true sense of urgency and exploring every possible option to get this month’s bills out quickly and accurately. We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding as we work through this unexpected challenge.”

The City mails more than 5,000 utility bills each month and is currently exploring all options to issue the current bills, including partnering with a new print-and-mail vendor or completing the mailing process in-house. Long-term solutions are also being evaluated to ensure continuity and reliability going forward.

In the meantime, customers who would like to avoid having two months of charges appear on next month’s bill have other payment options:

• Pay their bill online https://pikevilleky.gov/pay-for/; or
• Contact the Utility Office at (606) 437-5109 to check their current balance and make a payment.

The City will not charge late fees for this month’s bills. Late fees are scheduled to resume after June 25, provided that billing operations return to normal.

The City of Pikeville will continue to keep the public informed as more information becomes available.

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