The Kentucky Public Service Commission Monday issued its final order in the Kentucky Power Company’s $70 million rate increase request from last year. KSBA and 18 of 23 affected school boards intervened legally in the case, contributing to an increase for schools that is $1.4 million less than the original request. Districts served by KPC are now projected to see an increase of $700,000, compared with the original proposal, which would have cost an estimated $2.1 million a year.
Two additional parts of the agreement approved by the PSC also benefit affected school systems. KPC will provide $200,000 in both FY 2016-17 and FY 2017-18 to support the work of energy managers in the 23 districts.
And future energy charges to schools now will be calculated using a special rate that recognizes the difference between energy use characteristics of schools and the usage characteristics of other large business structures that had been grouped with schools in the past. That effect of that change also can be beneficial to district bottom lines.
Districts that helped to fund the legal intervention in the Kentucky Power case are Ashland, Fairview, Hazard, Jackson, Jenkins, Paintsville, Raceland-Worthington independent systems and the Breathitt, Carter, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Leslie, Letcher, Martin, Magoffin, Perry and Pike county boards.