KENTUCKY PRESS NEWS SERVICE
The Kentucky Public Service Commission will offer
opportunities next week for members of the public to provide comments on
a request by Big Rivers Electric Corp. to increase rates.
A public meeting will be held on the afternoon of June 13 in
Henderson, followed that evening by a video conference linking a public
meeting in Owensboro with a site in Paducah.
Both sessions will begin with a presentation by PSC staff on the
regulatory processes governing the case and an overview of the Big
Rivers proposal.
“These meetings are an opportunity for the public to learn how the PSC
reaches a decision in cases such as this,” PSC Chairman David Armstrong
said in a news release from the agency. “The meetings also allow the PSC
to hear directly from ratepayers in these matters.”
Because Big Rivers provides power to an area extending from Meade County
near Louisville to Ballard County on the Mississippi River, conducting
simultaneous meetings by video conference is an efficient way to reach
the entire service territory, Armstrong said.
Big Rivers is seeking approval to adjust rates to increase adjusted
annual revenue by $74.5 million. Of that amount, $63 million is to
partly offset the loss of revenue that will occur when the Century
Aluminum Co. smelter in Hawesville ceases to be a customer in
mid-August. Century Aluminum consumes about 40 percent of the power
generated by Big Rivers, and a slightly larger share of total revenue.
The remaining portion of the $74.5 million is needed for Big Rivers to
maintain financial stability and meet its debt obligations, the utility
says.
In its application, Big Rivers estimates that the rate changes will
increase average monthly residential bills by about $24 per month, or
about 19 percent. Large industrial customers would see rates go up about
17 percent, the utility says.
The current case does not take into consideration the impending loss of
Big Rivers’ second-largest customer, the Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum
smelter in Sebree, which has been purchased by Century Aluminum. It uses
about one-fourth of the power Big Rivers produces and has announced its
intention to close in January.
Big Rivers has file notice of a second request for rate adjustment to account for the loss of the Alcan revenue.
Although Big Rivers and Century have been working toward an agreement
that would keep both smelters operational - by purchasing power on the
open market rather than from the utility - documents outlining the
arrangement have not been filed with the PSC. If an agreement is
reached, it will require review and approval by the PSC in a separate
proceeding before it can take effect. Its impacts may be considered in
connection with the current case.
The public meetings are scheduled for:
Henderson
June 13, 2013, 1 p.m.
Auditorium, South Middle School
800 South Alves St.
Owensboro
June 13, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
Room 107, Advanced Technology Center
Owensboro Community & Technical College
4800 New Hartford Road
Paducah
June 13, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
Crounse Hall Room 228
West Kentucky Community & Technical College
4810 Alben Barkley Drive
For those unable to attend the meetings, the informational presentation
will be made available on the PSC website, psc.ky.gov, on the morning of
June 13. A video recording of the meetings also will be available on
the website.
The Big Rivers application and related documents are available on the PSC website. The case number is 2012-00535.
In addition to the public meetings, the PSC will conduct a formal
evidentiary hearing in the case beginning at 9 a.m. on July
1. The hearing will be held at the PSC offices at 211 Sower Blvd.
in Frankfort. It will be open to the public and may be viewed live on
the PSC website.
