Members of the Kentucky Public Service Commission listen to residents in Ashland on Jan. 8. From left, Andrew Wood, Chair Angie Hatton and Mary Pat Regan.(Curtis Tate / WEKU)Louisville Gas Electric and Kentucky Utilities' rate settlement has been approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Under the settlement, KU electricity customers will see an average increase of $9 a month. LGE electricity customers will see their bills go up $5 a month. It's the first increase for the companies' customers since 2020, and they have agreed not to file another rate case with the Kentucky commission until 2028. The settlement cuts the original request filed last year in half. The increase offsets infrastructure upgrades and increased expenses including storm recovery. The companies serve about 1 million customers in more than 90 Kentucky counties. Last week, KU was awarded a federal grant to upgrade pollution controls at its largest coal plant. A report last year concluded that shifting away from fossil fuels and toward renewables would save Kentucky electricity customers billions of dollars by 2050. The Kentucky PSC's decision, issued Monday, is one of three major rate cases before the commission. The others are Kentucky Power and East Kentucky Power Cooperative. LGE and KU was one of six companies in four states that received $175 million in U.S. Department of Energy grants last week to upgrade coal plants. KU will use its undisclosed allocation to install selective catalytic reduction at its Ghent Unit 2 in Carroll County. The project will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, which can create smog. It will also increase the unit's year-round capacity. That's currently limited in the summer, when NOx emissions are stricter and require the purchase of credits. An LGE and KU affiliate, the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation, also received a federal grant for its Kyger Creek plant in Gallia County, Ohio. According to a story by the Appalachia-Midsouth Newsroom, Kyger Creek and the Clifty Creek plant in Jefferson County, Indiana, both operated by OVEC, lost $167 million for LGE and KU electricity customers from 2018 to 2024. The Clifty Creek plant did not receive a grant. LGE and KU own approximately 8% of OVEC. LGE and KU is a financial supporter of WEKU. Copyright 2026 WEKU ...read more read less