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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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Fresh off of receiving approval to raise rates, Kentucky Power is asking state regulators to reconsider parts of their decision, warning the current order could hurt the utility’s finances and reliability.

On Feb. 28, the Kentucky Public Service Commission granted a rate increase that would generate an additional $55 million a year for Kentucky Power, after the company had requested $77 million. But in a motion filed Friday, the company says several rulings in the order prevent it from fully recovering its costs.

Among the biggest concerns is how regulators handled vegetation management. Kentucky Power says changes to how tree-trimming costs are treated could reduce reliability work and leave about $17 million dollars in expenses unrecovered.

Also at issue is the PSC’s decision to disallow $7.2 million in “other” employee compensation. Kentucky Power says “other” compensation includes sick time, vacation time, personal days and family medical leave, which the company says are “fundamentally a part of employee compensation.”

The company is also challenging cuts to all incentive pay, limits on recovering transmission costs, and reductions in how much it can collect for the cost of the rate case itself.

Kentucky Power argues those changes could leave it earning well below its approved rate of return and may force it to file another rate case.

The utility is asking the commission to grant a rehearing and make adjustments that would protect its financial health while keeping customer rate impacts largely the same.

A copy of the motion follows:

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Public Service Commission has agreed to hold an informal conference with Kentucky Power today, in an attempt to see if a settlement is possible in the utility’s current rate case.

Kentucky Power filed an application for a nearly 15 percent rate hike. If granted, the average residential customer’s bill would rise $28, from $183 to $211.

During a public hearing at the Pike County Library last month, members of the public and several local officials lambasted the proposal. Another hearing is scheduled to be held in Hazard this week.

On Friday, the company asked the PSC to convene an informal conference “to consider the possibility of a settlement or other matters that may aid in the handling and disposition of the case.”

In an order filed this morning, the PSC agreed to meet with company officials beginning at 2 o’clock this afternoon. If necessary, the informal conference will continue on Wednesday.

Public records do not indicate what options will be discussed in the meeting.

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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. — In what has become a familiar refrain, Kentucky Power is once again asking regulators to approve a rate increase.

The utility is seeking to increase revenues by more than 13 percent in the latest filing. However, much of the burden for that increase would fall onto residential customers, who would see their rates climb by more than 18 percent.

Under the proposed rates, the average residential power bill would increase by $35.

In a statement on the company’s website, Kentucky Power says a number of factors made a rate increase necessary.

“Since Kentucky Power’s last rate review in 2020, our service area has experienced several significant natural events, including a devastating windstorm, an ice storm and historic flooding,” the statement says. “We have also seen a notable population decline in our service territory and the loss of several large commercial and industrial customers. These events make it harder to spread out our fixed costs, which can lead to higher bills for customers.”

If approved, the new rates would go into effect after Jan. 1.

You can read more from Kentucky Power about the rate request at https://www.kentuckypower.com/company/about/rates/. A copy of the notice giving the full proposed rates can be found at https://www.kentuckypower.com/lib/docs/ratesandtariffs/Kentucky/PSC_Notice_061623.pdf.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Water and sewer bills could be going up in Pike County, after Mountain Water District filed applications with the state Public Service Commission to raise rates.

The proposals seek to increase water revenues by 25 percent and sewer receipts by 49 percent.

For the average residential customer using 3,100 gallons of water a month, the proposed rates would mean that water bills would rise from $33.50 to $41.17 — an increase of 22.9 percent.

Mountain Water District proposes to raise sewer bills in three phases, with the final rates taking effect two years after approval. The average customer using a little more than 4,100 gallons of water would see their bills go up $13 immediately, then $10 more a year later, and then another $10 in two years. That would raise the average sewer bill from $71.95 to $105.24 in two years — an increase of 46 percent.

The PSC has not yet set any timetable for when it will review the request.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Public Service Commission is planning to hold three virtual hearings this week and next week, to accept comments from the public on a rate increase proposed by Kentucky Power.

The utility is seeking a 16 percent hike in residential power bills. If the increase is granted, the average residential bill would jump from $144 a month, to $167.

The PSC is planning to hold two hearings this Friday, from 1 to 4 p.m., and again from 5 to 8 p.m. The third hearing will be held Monday, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Anyone who wishes to speak is asked to email their name, adddress, phone number and email address to psc.meeting@ky.gov.

Additional instructions on how to attend the virtual meetings will be released this Thursday on the PSC’s website, psc.ky.gov.

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Frankfort, KY — Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary January 2019 unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, that according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, an agency within the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. The unemployment rate for January was down from the 4.3 percent reported for December 2018. The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for January 2019 was 4.0 percent which was up from 3.9 percent in December 2018, that according to the U.S. Department of Labor. County statistics will be released next week.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Public Service Commission has completed its review of the effect tax changes will have on Kentucky Power’s rates and has ordered a reduction.

In two orders issued last week, the PSC ordered a 3.9 percent reduction in the company’s rates, which is expected to save the average residential customer just shy of $6 a month.

This is the second change to Kentucky Power’s rates this year. In January, the PSC allowed the company to raise rates, but also ordered the elimination of various surcharges, which had the effect of reducing the average residential bill by slightly more than $6 a month.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — At the beginning of the year, the Martin County Water District filed a request with the Kentucky Public Service Commission, seeking a nearly 50 percent across-the-board increase in rates.

Now, an analysis of the utility’s finances by PSC staffers argues that the company requires less than half that amount.

In a report filed yesterday, the Division of Financial Analysis found that Martin County Water only needs to raise rates by 23.7 percent in order to meet its obligations. That raise the average residential customer’s water bill from about $40 a month to just over $49, That compares to an average bill of nearly $60 under the utility’s original proposal.

PSC commissioners must still rule on the matter and can accept, reject or amend the request.

Martin County Water and other interested parties now have 14 days to respond to the report.

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