Kentucky — More than one in five Kentucky families cannot afford their monthly energy bills, according to a new report from the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Energy Equity Project, and Energy and Policy Institute.
The report, Lights Out in Kentucky: Energy Burdens and Electricity Disconnections Across the State, reveals that 23% of Kentucky families are energy-burdened, spending more than the recommended 6% of their annual income on essential utilities. The burden is especially severe in Eastern Kentucky and the Louisville metropolitan area, where residents now face up to $22 more per month in electricity costs due to LGE’s recent petition to raise rates.
“Residential electricity rates in Kentucky have risen by 128% from 2001 to 2024,” said Rebecca Shelton, Director of Policy at the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. “Kentuckians cannot keep handing over more and more of their hard-earned money to utilities just to keep the lights and heat on. Without decisive action from state leaders, more families will fall behind on their utility bills and face the threat of losing power during life-threatening cold weather,” she added.
Unlike Ohio, Indiana, and 41 other states, Kentucky lacks legal protections to prevent utility disconnections during dangerously cold weather. Last year, electric utilities shut off service nearly 63,000 times from January to March—the coldest months of the year—and carried out at least 268,000 total disconnections statewide, an 87% increase from the prior year.
Federal assistance provided through the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has helped some eligible families avoid disconnection. However, LIHEAP funding consistently falls short—covering only 1% to 9% of the amount needed for low-income customers to have affordable energy bills. Last year, an additional $68 million would have been required to prevent all utility disconnections.
Interestingly, areas with high energy burdens did not always experience the highest disconnection rates. Some utilities, like Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative, serving regions with high electricity costs, did not rank high for monthly disconnections, showing that certain practices can help customers retain service, even if they cannot afford their bills.
Therefore, state lawmakers and regulators have the power to lower energy burdens and keep families connected. Recommended actions include supporting equitable rate designs that account for the challenges faced by low-income households, creating a state assistance program to supplement LIHEAP, and enacting laws that protect Kentuckians from disconnection during periods of extreme heat or cold.munities don’t have to shoulder the burden of degrading mines in their backyards that companies leave behind.”
Read the full report here.
