Urges Kentucky Public Service Commission to keep coal plants operating
FRANKFORT, Ky. (October 2, 2023) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron opposed a request to retire four Kentucky coal-fired power plants and largely replace them with high-cost and unreliable renewable sources. The proposal would severely reduce the reliability of Kentucky’s power grid, raise utility rates, and kill jobs across the Commonwealth.
“Closing Kentucky’s coal plants while communist China approves two new plants a week will do nothing for the climate and is not in the best interest of Kentucky,” said General Cameron. “The Public Services Commission must protect hard-working families from the very avoidable catastrophe of rolling blackouts and skyrocketing utility prices.”
Coal benefits Kentucky. It provides safe, affordable energy throughout the Commonwealth. And coal power is reliable in all seasons and weather conditions, unlike wind and solar resources that are prone to prolonged outages. It’s a fact: coal keeps the lights on.
But a cascade of burdensome environmental regulations from the Biden Administration has forced many coal-fired plants to shut down, increasing utility rates and destroying the Commonwealth’s competitive advantage in the process. Faced with record inflation and increased demand for electricity, now is not the time to abandon Kentucky coal and tie our future to unreliable and expensive alternatives.
General Cameron has consistently sounded the alarm about such misguided energy policies and worked to stop the assault on Kentucky’s industry. He has fought federal proposals to impose crippling costs on coal-fired power plants, sued to stop the Biden Administration’s cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline, and opposed the EPA’s excessive regulation of fossil fuels.
Since taking office, General Cameron has also saved Kentuckians nearly $300 million in proposed utility rate increases. View the brief here.