City eyeing a new electrical wholesaler in bid to keep utility rates low

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Tuesday, April 8, 2014, 11:14 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council ended its regular meeting Tuesday night with an executive session to hear a presentation from an individual representing an unnamed wholesale electricity supplier. That supplier — judging from the logos on the door of a recently parked SUV outside the council chambers — was Louisville Gas & Electric/Kentucky Utilities.

While Mayor Bill Sheckles could not identify the company and the exact nature of the presentation, he did suggest the discussions may get “heated.”

At its April 1 working session, the council heard a report on negotiations that may mean a switch from Kentucky Utilities as the city’s wholesale electricity supplier. The city’s engineering staff said a utility representative would likely visit Tuesday’s meeting with a presentation.

WHAT’S AT STAKE? For the city’s electric customers, the choice of wholesale provider will impact future utility rates.

For municipally owned electric utilities like Bardstown, the decision on which wholesale electric supplier to choose rests partly on figuring out which form of electricity generation is going to be the most economical and has the best chances of meeting future environmental regulations, Jeff Mills, city electrical engineer explained.

KU wants long-term commitments from wholesale customers so it can better plan its investments in new power generation technology. For cities like Bardstown, there may be other wholesale electricity suppliers that can offer better rates in the long-term that will also meet future environmental regulations.

An unknown factor facing power generation facilities are how coming regulations on carbon dioxide emissions will affect their costs. If a wholesaler is forced to add emission controls to meet new regulations, those costs will be passed along to its customers — and eventually, the utility’s customers.

The council was expected to take no action at the end of the closed session. Bardstown and the other municipally owned electric utilities served by KU face an April 23 deadline for giving a five-year notice of their intent to drop KU as a supplier. After that date, KU is asking for a 10-year notice.

Unless a special council meeting is called to take action, the next Bardstown City Council meeting is Tuesday, April 22 — the day before KU’s deadline.

In other action, the council:

– approved a municipal order that sets a schedule of committee meetings.

– reappointed Clara Mackin Fulkerson to a one-year term on the Wickland board.

– approved a proposed route for a “Run for Kids” 5k walk/run sponsored by the Bardstown/Nelson County Volunteer Fire Department on June 7.

– approved a $500 sponsorship for the Kentucky Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials Spring summit in Bardstown on April 25-26 at Kreso’s in Bardstown.

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