FRANKFORT:  Kentucky Power Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, today filed a base rate case with the Kentucky Public Service Commission (KPSC) seeking $123.6 million in rate relief from its customers. It is the first base rate increase the company has requested since September 2005.
 
If approved by the KPSC, the bill for a typical residential customer using 1,427 kilowatt hours of electricity per month will rise from the current price of $114.57 to $154.62 (or from 8.03 cents per kilowatt hour to 10.84 cents per kilowatt hour) – an increase of 34.95 percent. The company is asking the KPSC to make the new rates effective Jan. 29, 2010, however the Commission is likely to suspend that request and make any rate changes effective July 1, 2010 (presuming the company’s case follows prescribed regulatory procedures).
 
"The increased costs of doing business, including those for operations, safety, equipment, materials, supplies and labor – not to mention the ever-increasing costs of meeting environmental and regulatory obligations – have all risen since our last rate case. We cannot sustain the reliable level of service that our customers expect with our current rate structure and that has necessitated this filing," said Tim Mosher, president and COO of Kentucky Power.
 
"In these difficult economic times we are conscious of the impact any increase in rates will have on our customers. We do not take this request or its impact on customers for granted. Customers should know that Kentucky Power strives to maintain costs and operate efficiently in order to keep rates as low as possible.
 
"We make this rate request with the best interest of our employees, customers and shareholders in mind. It is not something we wish, but something we must do to adequately meet our responsibilities of providing reliable, cost effective service while operating in an environmentally responsible manner," Mosher said.
 
Mosher said that even with the proposed increase, Kentucky Power’s rates will remain fairly priced. "Electricity is still a good value, particularly when you compare it against other energy costs and consider all the conveniences and comforts it brings to our lives."
 
Kentucky Power is an operating unit of American Electric Power and provides electricity to approximately 175,000 customers in all or parts of 20 Eastern Kentucky counties. The company is headquartered in Frankfort and has major operating facilities in Ashland, Hazard and Pikeville. AEP and Kentucky Power employ more than 650 persons in Kentucky.
 
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
 
###