LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky’s Republican-controlled legislature sent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear a bill aimed at making it more difficult for utilities to retire coal-fired power plants.
The House gave final passage to Senate Bill 4 on Thursday by a 66-28 vote, with GOP supporters of the bill saying they don’t believe utility executives who testified that it would in fact raise electricity costs to Kentucky consumers.
Many eastern Kentucky lawmakers expressed dismay about the decline of the industry, putting the blame on federal regulations.
“Coal will be back,” said Rep. Tom Smith, R-Corbin, who predicted a new administration will eventually implement different policies at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The bill would not force utilities to keep coal plants operating, but it would raise a barrier to retiring them.
Under the bill, there would be a “rebuttable presumption against the retirement of a fossil fuel-fired electric generating unit” when utilities seek permission from the Kentucky Public Service Commission to retire plants.
Utilities would have to demonstrate to the state’s regulator that the proposed retirement of the plant meets a number of conditions; among them, that there would be no “net incremental costs to be recovered from ratepayers that could be avoided by continuing to operate” the plant and that the closure “is not the result of any financial incentives or benefits offered by any federal agency.”
A spokeswoman for Beshear did not immediately respond when asked for the governor’s stance on the bill. Even if Beshear vetoes the bill, lawmakers could override that decision during the final two days of the legislative session on March 29-30.
