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Kentucky Power will hold three public hearings in November, December and January for its proposed rate increase.
According to a filing with the Kentucky Public Service Commission, they will take place in Pikeville, Hazard and Ashland, respectively.
The company is seeking a 14.9% increase in residential rates and a 13.8% increase in commercial rates. The average residential customer would pay $27.30 more a month, if the commission approves the request.
Kentucky Power is also seeking a separate certificate of public convenience and necessity to upgrade the Mitchell plant in West Virginia to keep it in operation past 2028.
If approved, that would cost residential customers an additional $3.68 a month.
Kentucky Power’s average customer bill of $181.74 a month is already the highest in the region. Approval in both cases would raise it to $212.72.
A company witness testified earlier this month that one of Mitchell’s concrete cooling towers is failing structurally and will need to be reinforced or replaced.
Kentucky Power says it will seek a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help cover the cost of repair or replacement of the cooling tower.
Another company witness told the Kentucky commission that credit-ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have expressed concerns about Kentucky Power’s reliance on coal.
Kentucky Power’s credit rating is the lowest investment-grade rating, and it is the lowest of the subsidiaries of American Electric Power, which include Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power.
The Trump administration has taken steps to support coal generation, including a $625 million program to help utilities extend the life of their coal generation assets.
It has also proposed to scrap U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions rules enacted during the Biden administration.
Kentucky Power serves 162,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties. The region has lost jobs and population in the past few decades, reducing the number of residential and industrial electricity customers.