Customers of South Kentucky RECC, which serves all of Clinton County, will soon notice a rise in the cost of flipping the switch “on” following the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s approval of a rate increase for the supplier of electricity to the local Co-op.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) granted the rate increase last Friday to East Kentucky Power Cooperative, the Winchester based supplier of electricity to 16 Rural Electric Cooperatives across Kentucky, including South Kentucky RECC.

The rate increase becomes effective immediately and will be used for all electricity usage after the date the increase was approved, January 14.

The PSC conducted a public hearing on the case in December prior to announcing its decision last Friday.

According to a press release issued Friday from South Kentucky RECC, the increase will mean that the average residential customer electricity bill will see an increase of about $4.25.

“As a not-for-profit cooperative, South Kentucky RECC must pass along this increased cost from our power supplier EKPC to retail members,” said Ruby Patterson, SKRECC Vice President of Member Services and Marketing. “The increase is going to add about $4.25 to the average monthly bills of our residential members.”

South Kentucky RECC spokesperson Joy Bullock told the Clinton County News on Monday of this week that on average, customers of the co-op pay a monthly bill of just under $100.

“The $4.25 residential increase represents a 4.27 percent increase to SKRECC members,” Bullock explained in an email response to questions about the rate increase. “The average SKRECC residential bill is $99.48 per month. This EKPC rate increase will raise that to $103.73 per month.”

Bullock also confirmed that while estimates concerning the upcoming increase only refer to how much residential customers will be seeing their electric bills go up, the same rate of increase – 4.27 percent – will also be noticed by business customers of SKRECC as well.

In a related development, there is also the possibility that the increase won’t be the only time in the near future SKRECC customers might see their monthly electric bills increasing.

During a meeting last week of the Clinton County Fiscal Court, while the local governmental body was discussing ways to bring in additional funding to help alleviate budget shortcomings that are related to Clinton County ambulance service expenses, it was mentioned that the county could approve an additional fee that would be tacked onto electric meters.

Those discussions in last week’s fiscal court meeting prompted Clinton County Judge/Executive Lyle Huff to note that by charging a $5 monthly fee for each electric meter in use in Clinton County, the amount raised would be about $35,000 each month.

When asked about the process of placing a utility tax on each electric meter, Bullock explained that it was something that can be ordered by a fiscal court in an effort to bring in additional operational funding.

“My understanding is that a franchise fee, if implemented by your fiscal court, has nothing to do with SKRECC, other than they address the issue to us, should it pass, and we have to put it on the members’ bills in Clinton County, collect it, and send ALL of it back to the county for their use,” Bullock explained. “SKRECC will receive no financial gain from it.”

In announcing the rate increase last week, SKRECC, in its press release, urged customers to be aware of ways they can reduce electricity consumption, as well as other programs offered that include rebates and incentives for upgrading of equipment as well as free professional home inspections.

Patterson added that the co-op urges its members to take advantage of the many free programs it provides that can help people reduce their consumption of energy.

“We can help members to improve the energy efficiency of their homes or businesses,” said Patterson. “South Kentucky RECC provides free energy audits, along with Button-Up, Tune-Up, and other energy-saving programs. We can help people pinpoint the areas where they can save.”

Most homes have many places where outside air leaks into the living areas, driving up monthly bills. In addition, older homes typically do not have proper insulation in attics and crawl spaces.

“The duct work in the average home has 30 percent air leakage,” she said. “Leaks around your doors and windows often can be repaired at little cost, and that can dramatically improve energy efficiency.”

Patterson said that in some cases, using caulk can seal these leaks, and currently, South Kentucky RECC has free caulk for members available at its offices.

South Kentucky RECC also offers Simple Savings energy information bulletins and videos that provide step-by-step instructions to prevent wasting energy. The information is available at www.simplesavings.coop. Other valuable tips can be found at www.togetherwesave.com.

In addition, South Kentucky RECC provides rebates to offices, stores, schools and other places of business that want to upgrade lighting, which will improve energy efficiency and cut costs.

“We will pay qualified businesses rebates to replace incandescent lights or large fluorescent lights that are set in fixtures with magnetic ballasts,” said Patterson. “Businesses and schools can get cash rebates for the improvements and save money on their monthly electric bills.”

For more information on these programs, please contact your local South Kentucky RECC office and ask to speak to an energy advisor, or call 800-264-5112.