By Tony McVeigh
Frankfort, KY – If you get power from Kentucky Utilities or Louisville Gas and Electric, your monthly bills are going up. The state Public Service Commission has approved the latest rate hikes sought by the utilities.
"For a customer using 1000 kilowatt hours per month of electricity - this is for both LG&E and KU - the rate increase is going to be about seven dollars. For the LG&E natural gas customer, the increase in the base rate - which is separate from the cost of the natural gas itself - the base rate increase is going to be about three dollars per month."
Andrew Melnykovych of the PSC says the utilities have also agreed to improve meter reading and billing procedures, and broaden incentives to commercial customers to improve energy efficiency. The increases include recovery costs for damages incurred by the two utilities during the September 2008 wind storm and the January 2009 ice storm.