Kentucky families are already doing everything they can to keep the lights on. Groceries cost more. Rent costs more. Gas costs more. Now Kentucky Power is asking to raise electric bills again — by 12.3% — and working people in Eastern Kentucky are being told to shoulder the burden.

Kentucky Power serves about 165,000 customers across 20 counties in Eastern Kentucky, some of the poorest regions in the Commonwealth. This is not a luxury service. Electricity is a necessity. Yet Kentucky Power has repeatedly returned to the Kentucky Public Service Commission asking for double-digit increases while its parent company, American Electric Power, continues to post strong profits.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has taken the extremely rare step of urging regulators to reject this rate increase outright, warning that it benefits shareholders while pushing families closer to the breaking point. Public comments heard in Pikeville, Hazard, and Ashland make it clear: many residents are struggling to survive these costs, and some are even considering leaving their communities because electric bills are becoming unaffordable.

This proposal would raise the average residential bill by more than $26 a month by 2028. The tiered rate structure also risks punishing low-income households living in older, poorly insulated homes, while wealthier customers get a break. That is not fair. It is not responsible. And it is not what a regulated monopoly should be doing in communities that already face economic hardship.

If Kentucky Power wants to continue operating in Eastern Kentucky, it should share in the risk — not pass it all onto ratepayers. Before families are asked to pay more, the company should be held accountable for its decisions, its costs, and its long-term plan for serving this region.

We are calling on the Kentucky Public Service Commission to stand with ratepayers, reject this excessive rate hike, and require a full independent review of Kentucky Power’s management and spending. Affordable, reliable electricity should strengthen our communities — not drain them.

Eastern Kentucky deserves better than endless rate increases. It’s time to put people before profits.