How Your Work Counted
This past week, our constituents made their voices heard— First at the ballot box, resulting in the re-election of Governor Beshear, in what appears to have been (in part) due to the administration’s presence in flood-ravaged areas of eastern Kentucky where the administration has been working on re-building these areas with more climate-resilient infrastructure. Those re-building plans include adding energy-efficient modular homes that are in some cases “solar-ready,” and are located in areas above the flood zone.
But we particularly want to highlight other news this week in a victory for clean energy: On November 6th, the Kentucky Public Service Commission sent down their final order on Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities’ case for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and Demand-Side Management…this was a case that was the first test of last session’s Senate Bill 4 (KCC Strong Oppose) which created a rebuttable presumption against the retirement of a gas or coal-fired electric generating units. After the bill was passed, KCC coordinated with our allies who are also part of the Kentuckians for Energy Democracy Coalition, to ask members to rally around this PSC case to generate more than 400 public comments where the public asked for less fossil fuels and more clean energy and efficiency. This resulted in the PSC approving the request to install 877 MW of solar generation and 500 MWh of battery storage.. But more importantly, the PSC also approved the request to retire two coal-fired generating units and three gas-powered units in LG&E/KU’s portfolio, and also denied one of their two proposed new gas generating units.
While this is significant good news for advocates of clean energy, there is still a way to go-we had hoped to see more investment in energy efficiency, and still have concerns over the addition of one new gas generating unit that is a climate-impacting new source which will have a lifespan of decades…but for now, you can feel good about the positive outcomes of your actions over the past several months. And we ask if you can continue to stay engaged with the work that is still left to do. For now, this includes actions for those in the Kentucky Power service territory, where customers are being faced with a potential 18% rate increase in a region that has some of the highest utility bills in the state. If you live in that service area, you can follow this link for information on how you can make your comments.
Interim Session Updates
Air Quality, Wildlife Health, Solar on the Agenda: This week, the Interim Joint Natural Resources and Energy Committee will be receiving reports from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources on wildlife disease issues [Reports already posted HERE and HERE]. These were posted in advance of next week’s regular meeting of the Committee at 3PM on Thursday, November 16th. The Committee also received reports on the use of reformulated gasoline in response to last session’s HJR 37 [Link to Report HERE] where the Cabinet submitted a request to EPA for redesignation of the Kentucky portion of the Louisville ozone area to attainment for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. On April 18, 2023, EPA published a proposed rule to approve the Cabinet’s redesignation request. As of the date of this report, EPA has not yet taken final action on the redesignation request submitted by the Cabinet.
The Natural Resources and Energy Committee also received a report on energy efficiency measures in state government [Link HERE]. While all these reports have been posted to the Natural Resources Committee to review, they are not requiring any actions at this time.
However one item on the Interim Committee agenda will be an update on the Solar Power industry in Kentucky, which will include reports from Kenya Stump with the Energy and Environment Cabinet as well as Evan Vaughn from the Mid-Atlantic Renewables Energy Coalition.
KCC monitors all of these meetings and presentations and we will report on the highlights, but you are always able to see many of these meetings live on the Legislative Research Commission’s YouTube channel [Link Here]
Upcoming KCC Events:
”Kentucky Voices” on December 8, 2023
and save the date for KCC’s Legislative Summit on January 21st, 2024.
Ky Voices Registration OPEN NOW! Kentucky Voices is back to an in-person gathering to highlight Kentucky's authors and artists, and to benefit the Kentucky Conservation Committee and its mission. It’s a great time to get together in preparation for the 2023 legislative session. Authors will be on hand to sign and sell their books at this event, so it’s a great time to grab your favorite books in time for the holiday gift season.
This year’s event will feature these distinguished Kentucky authors including former Governor Paul Patton, LeTonia Jones, Byron Crawford, and Richard Taylor. The event is FREE for KCC members in good standing, and if it is time for your renewal, we encourage you to use this opportunity to renew with us and bring a friend to help build our membership in time for the upcoming session. Details HERE.
And then mark your calendars for KCC’s Annual Meeting and Legislative Summit which will be held once again on Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 21, 2024 at Kentucky State University…this will be your opportunity to get the updates on the legislative session, plus trainings to sharpen your legislative advocacy skills. Watch this space for updates!