PUBLIC COMMENTS NEEDED:
Kentucky Power's
Integrated Resource Plan
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Your comments are WORKING!Together, we are holding utilities accountable and keeping electric bills affordable.
The Public Service Commission just ruled on the rate increase proposed by Kentucky Power. The original request would have increased residential bills by over 18%. The public advocates who intervened in the case came to a settlement agreement with KY Power that would keep rate increases around 11% and provide many new protections for low income customers, including important protections against disconnections. The PSC ruled that the impact of the utility's proposal would be “excessive and disturbing,” based on hearing from so many customers that they could not afford a rate increase. They approved a rate increase lower than the agreed upon settlement, increasing a typical residential customer’s bill 5.66% over current rates. This is a HUGE win! Let's keep up the momentum! Public Comment Needed: KY Power Integrated Resource Plan |
Background:
The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is a blueprint for our electric utilities for the next 15 years. If taken seriously it can help our utilities make smart decisions. Unfortunately, our electric utilities don't always consider what is most important to customers when making their plans.
Kentucky Power currently has the highest average bills in the state and recently asked for their fourth rate increase in the last seven years. Those rate increases come from poor planning and lack of investment in programs that would lower our bills and future energy needs. We need the Public Service Commission to ensure that KPC is being as smart as they can with how they're planning for our energy future. |
While their current IRP isn't the worst plan we've ever seen, there are some easy ways that Kentucky Power could do things differently that would have a big impact. We're glad to see investments in solar, wind and battery storage. These investments not only make sense from an economic standpoint, but they also make our grid more resilient and reliable. To have an even greater impact those projects could be located in the region and use local companies to increase economic development.
In addition to investing in new, clean power sources, hardworking Kentuckians need KPC to invest in us, too. That means creating more energy efficiency programs for our homes and businesses like inclusive financing (where the utility will pay the upfront cost of energy efficiency upgrades to our homes and/or rooftop solar and we pay back the “loan” through part of the savings on our bills). Investing in us is something that the utilities could do right now to save us AND the utility money. We also need KPC to help families and businesses access rooftop solar and battery storage to lower bills and make our homes and businesses more resilient.
We can't let our utility companies lock us into building expensive, risky gas plants. New gas plants mean either forty more years of fossil fuels use OR customers being on the hook to paying for the full cost of these plants even if/when federal carbon regulations require utilities to move away from fossil fuels (stranded assets). Either way, gas is not affordable, safe, clean, or reliable. We shouldn't have to keep paying for KPC's bad business decisions.
See Sample Talking Points for your Rate Case comment below
In addition to investing in new, clean power sources, hardworking Kentuckians need KPC to invest in us, too. That means creating more energy efficiency programs for our homes and businesses like inclusive financing (where the utility will pay the upfront cost of energy efficiency upgrades to our homes and/or rooftop solar and we pay back the “loan” through part of the savings on our bills). Investing in us is something that the utilities could do right now to save us AND the utility money. We also need KPC to help families and businesses access rooftop solar and battery storage to lower bills and make our homes and businesses more resilient.
We can't let our utility companies lock us into building expensive, risky gas plants. New gas plants mean either forty more years of fossil fuels use OR customers being on the hook to paying for the full cost of these plants even if/when federal carbon regulations require utilities to move away from fossil fuels (stranded assets). Either way, gas is not affordable, safe, clean, or reliable. We shouldn't have to keep paying for KPC's bad business decisions.
See Sample Talking Points for your Rate Case comment below
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Want to Know More?Watch this short webinar to learn more about how we got here and where we need to go.
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Tips for Writing Your Comment
The Commission wants to hear how the decisions KPC makes affect your life and your family. You don’t have to be an expert for your input to matter.
Please write your comment in your own words. You are welcome to use the talking points below but try not to copy and paste them word for word. The Commission gives more weight to unique comments over form responses. Don't overthink it. Your comment can be simple.
Please write your comment in your own words. You are welcome to use the talking points below but try not to copy and paste them word for word. The Commission gives more weight to unique comments over form responses. Don't overthink it. Your comment can be simple.
Talking points to inform your comment
Hover over the talking points to see them better
We need safe, warm, energy efficient homes.
KPC’s current and proposed programs fail to meet the biggest needs of our communities: energy efficiency and local resiliency.
- Energy Efficiency helps us stop wasting electricity and money in our homes and businesses, and lowers utility power costs 24/7 - especially when more people are using power and it’s most expensive.
- KPC can invest in us to make our homes energy efficient: They can offer “inclusive financing” which pays the upfront costs of efficiency upgrades like new water heaters and insulation that are in turn paid for by a monthly charge that is less than the monthly energy savings. This would lower our bills and make our homes more safe and livable!
We need to be able to afford to buy our own solar and batteries
We applaud Kentucky Power for investing in renewable energy, including their distributed solar gardens program. But Kentucky Power’s IRP fails to help most of their customers access much-needed solar and batteries. One of the easiest ways to make rooftop solar more possible for our homes is using a payment system called net metering. Net Metering allows customers to reduce their energy bills with rooftop solar and is a win for utilities and for customers by reducing how much energy we need from the utility when energy is most expensive. With Net Metering, energy we produce right at our homes can continue to grow at a significant rate that will meaningfully lower the costs for KPC to meet the energy needs of their customers. Kentucky Power recognizes that they are essential to making our energy system affordable, reliable and resilient. Kentucky Power could take steps to promote net metered solar such as:
- KY Power should plan to extend net metering. The companies are free to continue net metering even after they meet the requirement to offer it up to a 1% threshold. And it is in their interest and our interest to do so.
- They should raise the cap on the size of net metered systems. This would particularly support small businesses.
- They should support net metering on multifamily housing.
- They should provide payment options, including on-bill financing, for homes that install solar
- They should work with partners on workforce development
If we invest in conserving energy NOW, we won’t have to pay for expensive power in the future
By investing in our homes and supporting customer-owned solar and storage, KPC could:
- reduce the amount of power they need to produce,
- help meet its upcoming capacity shortfall,
- explore new capacity alternatives such as virtual power plants, and
- postpone the need for costly investments in new power plants.
We need good paying energy jobs for the future
By providing the upgrades we need in our homes and building solar energy systems in our communities, Kentucky Power Co. could bring good paying, safe energy jobs to the area. This is particularly important in the Kentucky Power service territory, where jobs are declining, and many in our communities have to make the tough decision to leave their home in search of work, better housing, or lower power bills.
We deserve to stay in our homes and not just survive, but thrive
We know that extreme weather and other climate-related events, such as the 2022 flood and Winter Storm Elliott, are going to become more frequent, with substantial human and economic suffering, and loss of customers for KPC. Kentucky Power needs to plan accordingly and ensure that the grid is resilient, homes are livable, and bills are affordable for residential and small business customers. Energy efficiency programs such as inclusive financing, virtual power plants and other DSM programs, along with support for customer-owned solar are resiliency investments that prioritize the most vulnerable customers and help folks get through extreme weather events, brownouts, and blackouts - and can lower costs for everyone.
Last year, when we faced both a flood and a winter storm, we came together as Eastern Kentuckians to take care of each other and keep each other safe. Kentucky Power should be doing the same.
We know that extreme weather and other climate-related events are going to become more frequent in the coming years.. As our utility company, it's Kentucky Power’s job to make sure that the energy system can handle the next storm - which also means making sure that our homes are livable, and bills are affordable.
Energy efficiency programs that keep our homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer, along with support for customer-owned solar are investments that would build the resilience needed in our communities to withstand the next extreme weather event without electricity blackouts or outrageously high bills.
Last year, when we faced both a flood and a winter storm, we came together as Eastern Kentuckians to take care of each other and keep each other safe. Kentucky Power should be doing the same.
We know that extreme weather and other climate-related events are going to become more frequent in the coming years.. As our utility company, it's Kentucky Power’s job to make sure that the energy system can handle the next storm - which also means making sure that our homes are livable, and bills are affordable.
Energy efficiency programs that keep our homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer, along with support for customer-owned solar are investments that would build the resilience needed in our communities to withstand the next extreme weather event without electricity blackouts or outrageously high bills.
Building Expensive, Polluting, 40 year Gas Plants Does Not Make Sense
- It's not smart or safe to lock customers into paying for new gas plants when we know we need to move away from fossil fuels, and this will almost certainly be required in the coming years. Gas plants are at high risk of becoming stranded assets (customers being on the hook to pay for gas plants that are no longer useful)
- Already new regulations on gas plants and methane are being proposed by the federal government. And there is a good reason for this!
- Renewable energy, storage, and energy efficiency can affordably, safely, and reliably provide electricity for Kentucky. By delaying the transition away from fossil fuels, we are only increasing the cost of making that transition.
- Gas prices are unpredictable. Right now, utilities can pass that price volatility on to customers through the fuel adjustment charge. If KPC thinks gas is such a good idea they should assume the risk of fuel cost volatility.
More Info:
What is Net Metering?
Net Metering is a way to compensate rooftop solar users for the extra electricity they put onto the grid. When the sun is shining you may produce more energy than you need for your home. "Net metering" keeps track of the extra electricity that you put onto the grid (that the energy company can redistribute to your neighbors for free) and gives you credit towards pulling electricity off the grid when your panels aren't producing. We used to have a 1:1 net metering compensation rate, meaning for every extra KW/hr you put onto the grid you could pull an equal amount off the grid at a later time. Electric utilities lobbied to change that compensation rate and now each utility has different ways of crediting you for your extra rooftop solar. |