Kentucky's Electric Cooperatives Affirm Position on Electric Restructuring
02/01/2000

Kentucky's 27 consumer-owned electric cooperatives continue to support comprehensive study of the possible restructuring of Kentucky's electric utility industry.

That's the bottom line of a position statement on electricity
restructuring that was first unanimously adopted by the board of directors of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives in June of 1997 and unanimously affirmed by that body on Tuesday, January 18, 2000.

The electric co-ops' slight modification of their long standing position on the issue followed the December 13, 1999, issuance of final recommendations and findings of a special electricity restructuring study committee established by Kentucky's governor and general assembly during the 1998 legislative session.

The committee, by unanimous vote, recommended that ". . . no action be taken during the 2000 session of the General Assembly to restructure Kentucky's electric utility industry."  Furthermore, the committee, again by unanimous vote, recommended that ". . .the General Assembly continue to study the issue of retail competition."

Specifically, the co-ops call for continuance of the study committee's work "into and beyond the year 2000."  In addition to determining whether or not restructuring is in the best interest of the commonwealth, the co-ops also believe the study should pay particular attention to restructuring's potential effects on Kentucky's rural residents.

Furthermore, since Kentucky enjoys some of the lowest electric rates in the nation, the co-ops' position also encourages the study to "examine very closely whether restructuring could have a negative impact on the rates in low-cost states."

Click here to read the full text of the "Electric Utility Restructuring Position Statement of Kentucky's Electric Cooperatives."

Kentucky's 25 distribution cooperatives and two generation and
transmission cooperatives provide reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.5 million Kentuckians (about one-third of the state's population) in 113 of the state's 120 counties.

The Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives is the collective voice of all of Kentucky's 27 consumer-owned electric cooperatives in legislative and regulatory matters. Statewide electric cooperative positions on such matters are determined by the KAEC board of directors and implemented by the KAEC staff. The KAEC board is composed of two representatives from each of Kentucky's 27 electric cooperatives.

Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, Inc. 4515 Bishop Lane * Louisville, KY  40218 502-451-2430 * FAX: 502-459-3209 Terms of Use