Commission action to reduce residential electric bills
The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) announced this week the reduction of the total annual revenue of a pair of utility companies, resulting in customers garnering a reduction in their bills.
PSC officials said the revenue reductions of the Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) and Louisville Gas & Electric. Co. (LG&E) by $203.8 million reflects the reduction in federal corporate income taxes that took effect at the first of the year.
Officials noted residential electric customers will see their average monthly bills decrease by about 6 percent, while residential LG&E natural gas customers will see about a 4.5 percent reduction in the base rate portion of their bills.
The federal tax law enacted in December reduced the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent beginning this year, substantially reducing the tax burden on for-profit, investor-owned utilities.
The revenue reduction will be reflected in a credit, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) Surcredit, that will appear on KU and LG&E customer bills while the TJCA Surcredit will take effect April 1, 2018, and will extend through April 30, 2019.
The credit expires on April 30, 2019, officials said, because KU and LG&E have indicated they intend to file for rate adjustments that will, among other things, reflect the changes in the federal corporate income tax.
