Kentucky Power cooling-tower case moves toward August briefs
The Kentucky PSC set post-hearing deadlines in Kentucky Power’s Mitchell Plant cooling-tower case. The project, construction approval and any customer bill effects remain undecided.
Kentucky Power’s request to build a mechanical-draft cooling tower at the Mitchell Plant is moving toward post-hearing briefs, but the Kentucky Public Service Commission has not approved the project or authorized construction.
The commission’s July 13 order set deadlines for information requests, responses and briefs in PSC Case No. 2026-00001. The docket later recorded a July 23 motion by Kentucky Power seeking more time, followed by responses filed July 28 and supplemental responses filed July 30.
The case concerns Kentucky Power customers in approximately 20 eastern Kentucky counties. The Lexington Herald-Leader and WKYT have reported that the utility serves about 162,000 customers in that territory.
What the PSC ordered
In its July 13, 2026 order, the PSC granted Kentucky Power’s July 6 motion for a deviation from portions of 807 KAR 5:001, Section 9(2)(b). The order also established the post-hearing schedule after the commission’s July 8 hearing.
- Post-hearing information requests were due July 14.
- Responses to those requests were due July 28.
- Memorandum briefs are due August 21.
- Reply briefs are due August 28.
- The case stands submitted for a commission decision at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 29.
The August 29 date is a submission date, not necessarily the date the PSC will announce its decision. The commission may issue its ruling later.
What the later filings show
The PSC docket shows that Kentucky Power filed a motion for extension of time on July 23. The docket reviewed for this article does not show an order granting that motion, so it should not be described as an approved extension.
The docket also shows Kentucky Power filed responses to Commission Staff’s post-hearing data requests and Sierra Club’s post-hearing data requests on July 28. On July 30, the utility filed supplemental responses to Commission Staff’s requests. Those filings continue the record but do not resolve the application.
What Kentucky Power is asking for
The application seeks a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct a mechanical-draft cooling tower at the Mitchell Plant. It also seeks approval of specified regulatory and accounting treatment, along with other required approvals and relief.
The PSC still must determine whether the requested project and related treatment meet Kentucky utility law and commission requirements.
Who is involved
Kentucky Power is the applicant. PSC staff is reviewing the application and filed post-hearing information requests.
The Kentucky Attorney General and the Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers, or KIUC, are participating as intervenors. They can examine the application, request information and present positions in the regulatory record. Sierra Club is also a party and filed post-hearing information requests.
Parties may take competing positions on costs, reliability, environmental issues and accounting. Those positions remain part of a pending case unless the PSC adopts findings in a final order.
What customers should know
The July 13 order was procedural. It set deadlines and granted relief from part of a filing rule; it did not approve the cooling tower or authorize construction.
The order also did not establish a new electricity rate, change service eligibility or confirm a bill increase or decrease. Any future rate or accounting effect would depend on later commission action and any separate proceedings that might follow.
What happens next
The next scheduled milestones are the August 21 memorandum-brief deadline, the August 28 reply-brief deadline and the August 29 submission date.
After the case is submitted, the PSC will decide Kentucky Power’s application. Until that ruling is issued, the cooling-tower proposal and the related regulatory and accounting requests remain pending.
Sources
- Kentucky PSC Case No. 2026-00001 docket
- Lexington Herald-Leader: State regulator probes EKY utility
- WKYT: Investigation launched into Eastern Kentucky power company
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