By Tony McVeigh
Frankfort, KY – Monthly light bills for customers of Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities are going up by about seven dollars. Rate increases sought by the companies in January have been approved by the state Public Service Commission. The attorney general's office says the rate hikes are excessive, but Andrew Melnykovych of the PSC says the commission disagrees.
"When it concluded its analysis, determined - using traditional rate making practices - the utilities could well have been entitled to a larger increase than what they ultimately received today. So, the commission felt that the partial agreement that had been reached was actually fair, just and reasonable."
The increases include recovery costs for damages incurred by the two utilities during the September 2008 wind storm and the January 2009 ice storm.