LG&E-KU Settles with Intervenors on Utility Rates
Drew Foley, Kentucky Chapter Chair:
On April 20th, intervenors came to an agreement on a rate review with Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities, with Sierra Club being one of those intervenors. Sierra Club supports this settlement because, if approved, it will significantly reduce the impact to ratepayers as compared to by the Companies’ original requests. Not only will overall bills rise less; the fixed customer charge won’t rise at all, which is a win for low- and fixed-income customers as well as for energy efficiency and conservation. The settlement also helps to ensure a responsible deployment of new ‘AMI’ smart meters, guarantees proportionate funding for low-income advocacy groups, and protects customers from another general rate increase for at least four more years. Meanwhile, the agreement does nothing to extend the life of LG&E-KU’s dirty, expensive coal-burning power plants, and it leaves the Companies’ request to change net metering--to the detriment of clean rooftop solar power--to be litigated in the coming weeks.
The settlement still must be approved by the Ky. Public Service Commission. If approved:
• KU residential customers using an average of 1,120 kWh per month would see an increase of $7.87 in their total monthly electric bill for the first 12 months after the ruling. When the relief credit expires in mid-2022, a KU residential customer using the same amount of energy would see their monthly bill increase approximately 76 cents.
• LG&E residential electric customers using an average of 894 kWh per month would see an increase in their total monthly bill of $4.10 for the first 12 months after the ruling. An LG&E residential customer using the same amount of energy would see the additional monthly increase of $3.07 when the relief credit expires in mid-2022.
• LG&E residential natural gas customers using an average of 54 Ccf per month would see an increase of $3.89 in their total monthly bill for the first 12 months following the ruling, and the additional monthly increase of 33 cents in mid-2022.
The parties to the rate review and settlement agreement are the Kentucky Attorney General; the United States Department of Defense; Kentuckians for the Commonwealth; the Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers; Kentucky Solar Energy Society; Kentucky Solar Industries Association; The Kroger Company; Walmart; Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government; Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government; Mountain Association; Metro Housing Coalition and the Sierra Club.
If approved by the KPSC, new rates and the Economic Relief bill credit would take effect July 1, 2021.
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