Kentucky: One of the Lowest Electric Rates in the Nation

03/06/2001

(To learn more about Kentucky residential rate comparisons, just click the map at the right.)

Kentucky isn't known only for basketball and horses. It also has some of the lowest electric rates in the country.

Kentucky's average residential electric rate is 5.58¢ per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while the national average residential rate is 8.16¢ per kWh - that's 46% higher!

When you compare Kentucky's rates to other electric rates around the country, our rates look even better:
If you were living in Ohio you would be paying an average of 64% more for your electric bill. Instead of paying an average of $55.80 for 1,000 kWh, Ohio residents pay $87.
And if you lived in Pennsylvania, the rates go even higher. Their average residential rate is 9.19¢ per kWh, which is 165% higher than Kentucky's. A consumer with an electric bill of 1,000 kWh would pay $92 in Pennsylvania. 

So why are rates so low in Kentucky? That's because we're located close to the coal fields, and coal is the primary fuel used in Kentucky's power plants.

In other states, if a power plant uses coal for fuel, it often has to be shipped a long distance, which adds extra costs to the power bill, or other more expensive fuels are used, such as natural gas.

The higher electric rates in other parts of the country are the reasons about half the states in the country have enacted legislation to deregulate their electric utilities. 
Kentucky's already low rates have led legislators to take a go-slow approach in the Commonwealth.

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