Two Eastern Kentucky lawmakers say the state must act now to avoid potential power shortages in the years ahead.
State Reps. Patrick Flannery of Olive Hill and Derek Lewis of London are sponsoring House Bill 540, also called the Eastern Kentucky Energy Savings Act.
Under the proposal, two natural gas plants would be constructed at the Big Sandy facility near Louisa.
“We’ll get the construction jobs, economic development,” Flannery said. “We are talking about a nine-figure construction project. It would be huge for the workers in Northeast Kentucky and the Tri-State Area.”
Flannery said the state would not directly pay for the plants. Instead, the project would be funded through a process known as securitization.
“That is a fancy way of saying the company can use the equity in one of their assets, Mitchell Plant in West Virginia,” Flannery explained. “At the same time, the equity would be stripped and used at the Big Sandy plant in Louisa, helping finance and bond a nine-figure construction project.”
The bill has drawn mixed reactions from the community.
“They have asked for a base rate freeze for two years,” community activist Paula Bowling said. “That’s good, but it kicks the can down the road because I don’t see language that says we still won’t get charged for that.”
A spokesperson for Kentucky Power said the company shares concerns about affordability but noted that securitization is a valuable tool to help reduce costs and limit customer impacts by spreading major expenses over time.