BY LIAM NIEMEYER Kentucky Lantern
Mar 17, 2023
FRANKFORT — A bill backed by Kentucky’s coal industry that would make it harder for utilities to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants received final passage Thursday in the Kentucky House of Representatives, sending the legislation for Gov. Andy Beshear’s consideration.
Senate Bill 5, primarily sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, would impose a series of prerequisites on the Kentucky Public Service Commission, the state regulator of utilities, before the commission could approve a utility’s request to retire a fossil fuel-fired power plant.
The bill sparked strong debate over the role coal-fired power will play in the future of the state, where coal currently generates the large majority of electricity for Kentuckians. Most Republicans touted their support for coal, asserting that past and planned retirements of coal-fired power plants in Kentucky and across the country threaten the reliability of the state’s electric grid.
“When it comes to renewable energy, I have no problem. But the wind won’t always blow and the sun won’t always shine. But coal always keeps the lights on,” said Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester on the House floor.
Mills, the primary bill sponsor, and other Republicans point to rolling blackouts implemented by some Kentucky utilities due to arctic temperatures as a recent example as to why the legislation is needed. During a legislative hearing earlier this year about the rolling blackouts, utility leaders instead pointed to key components of a natural gas pipeline that froze as a cause behind the rolling blackouts.
