September Updates and Events
Interim Session Highlights for Sept:
Disconnections Legislation Hearing Coming Up This Week: This Thursday, September 18th, lawmakers on the Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources & Energy will be hearing testimony on last year’s Senate Bill 137, dealing with utility service disconnections. As you may recall, this was one of our priority bills from the 2025 General Assembly, and the bill would prevent a utility from disconnecting or suspending residential service to a customer's residence during extreme weather conditions, which includes any natural disaster resulting in the declaration of a state of emergency and during a National Weather Service issued Extreme Cold Warning or Excessive Heat Warning for the county in which the customer resides. Neither this bill nor a house counterpart (H.B. 326) were never heard in committee last year and we, along with our other allies in the K4ED coalition, have continued to push to have this legislation heard in either the Interim Natural Resources or the Interim Health Committee.
Artificial Intelligence: Last Week, Lawmakers heard about the power usage of data centers as part of the work outlined in the Artificial Intelligence Task Force special committee. The September 11th meeting included (among other topics) information about the industry’s power demand forecast, which is expected to increase 3x in the next 5 years. The presentation also highlighted the competition between states for these massive operations. You may find the full video from that hearing at this link.
Disaster Prevention and Resiliency: During the Interim session last week, committee members heard presentations from our allies at the Appalachian Citizens Law Center on their priority recommendations for flood resilience. This not only included improving flood data systems such as mapping and stream level gauges, but also included nature-based recommendations for hazard mitigation. You can find their full slide deck from the presentation at this link. The nature-based recommendations reinforced information presented by The Nature Conservancy to the Natural Resources and Energy Committee back in July that outlined a needs assessment for the conservation of our natural lands.
Sun Day Frankfort - Learn About The Power of Solar and Clean Energy on Sept. 21
Hosted by: Progress Kentucky, Kentucky Conservation Committee, and Kentucky Solar Energy Society/Solar Kentucky. SunDay is a global day of action on September 21st, 2025, celebrating the unstoppable rise of clean energy. On SunDay, we’re celebrating the power of clean energy from the sun. We're showing the world that clean energy works and are encouraging the expansion of solar energy across the commonwealth. Activities include tours of the Extension Office's solar PV and battery back-up system, a solar-powered campervan, solar-powered portable refrigeration trailer, as well as electric vehicles will be on display. We'll have podcasters from Progress Kentucky on hand who will be broadcasting through the power of the sun! Free event - register here!