LEXINGTON, Ky. — In the wake of Winter Storm Fern, some Central Kentucky residents say they’re seeing high utility bills they either can’t afford or which caught them off guard.

Among them is Emma Moore, a Kentucky Utilities customer. When Moore recently opened her bill, mailed Feb. 10, she was astonished by what she was being charged for her 700-square-foot home in Lexington’s Kenwick neighborhood.

In addition to a previous balance of $247.73, Moore’s bill shows she owes $492.38. Her total amount due by Friday, March 6 is $740.11, according to a copy of her bill Moore shared with the Herald-Leader.

Moore said several of her neighbors are in a similar boat: They’ve recently opened monthly bills showing they owe hundreds of dollars to KU. The Lexington resident also points to recent social media posts on Facebook and Reddit alarmed by their utility bills.

“I realized that this isn’t isolated, that there are a lot of people who are reporting very high bills from KU,” Moore said.

What’s behind the uptick in energy bills?

When the Herald-Leader has reached out to Kentucky Utilities with questions about why energy costs shot up, whether it is offering credits to customers and what it is doing to help them understand their bills, the company responded with a statement.

“The weather and how we use energy are two major factors that influence energy bills. Recent extreme weather brought a stretch of days where the temperature across much of our service territory remained well below freezing. It is not uncommon to see these extreme weather patterns reflected on customer bills,” Drew Gardner, manager of external communications for LG&E and KU, wrote, in part.

Bills Kentucky utility companies and co-ops send customers every month reflect what’s called a variable fuel surcharge — the direct cost the utility pays to burn natural gas or coal or buy electricity on the spot market. Usually those are small and relatively stable.

Volatile temperature swings throw a wrench in that calculation, because extreme hot or cold increase demand, driving up the cost of natural resources. That leaves customers feeling the pinch in the middle of bitter-cold winter and sweltering summer.

Gov. Andy Beshear signed emergency legislation last week giving utilities the flexibility to spread big increases in fuel surcharges across several billing cycles. Appalachian-based Kentucky Power became the first company to get regulator’s approval to spread out $5 million in March fuel costs through June.

“We encourage customers to contact us right away if they think they may have difficulty paying their bill. While we understand that customers may be seeing higher bills, particularly in the winter months, all of our rates and services are set and approved by our regulator, the Kentucky Public Service Commission,” Gardner continued.

Kentucky’s power providers have monopolies over the service regions they operate. The PSC serves as an intermediary on behalf of ratepayers to prevent businesses from charging too much. But electricity costs are on the rise in the Bluegrass State, especially in mountainous Eastern Kentucky, where population and industrial decline are leaving fewer customers burdening a greater share of power delivery and infrastructure maintenance.

Moore has reached out to KU herself to ask about relief, including the possibility of a one-time credit or partial adjustment to her bill.

“Please know that as a regulated utility company we are not at liberty to apply credits or make adjustments to charges unless an error is made by KU on the account,” a customer service representative wrote to Moore in an email Feb. 10.

The representative instead offered to set up a payment extension for and provided her with a list of agencies and programs that could offer assistance. The list is hosted on KU’s website and includes federally-funded programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Moore isn’t satisfied with that response, however, and sees the situation as fundamentally unfair, she told the Herald-Leader earlier this month. She’s considering her legal options, including a lawsuit against the utility.

“Given that price gouging is illegal in Kentucky during the state of emergency, that’s where the lawsuit would be focusing on,” Moore said, referring to a state of emergency Gov. Andy Beshear declared ahead of Winter Storm Fern’s arrival last month.

“I’m not out for a paycheck,” Moore said. “I just want myself and my community members to have fair utilities.”

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