Kentucky utility laws are built around one agency and one statute: the Public Service Commission (PSC), acting under KRS Chapter 278, regulates more than 1,100 electric, natural gas, water, sewer, and telecommunications providers across the state.1Kentucky.gov. About the Public Service Commission That framework sets what your utility can charge, how much notice it owes you before shutting off service, how large a deposit it can hold, and what you can do when something goes wrong. The rules below are the ones that matter when you’re reading a bill, opening a disconnect notice, or deciding whether to fight a charge.
Who Regulates Your Utility
The PSC is a three-member body with authority over rates, service quality, meter accuracy, construction of facilities, and consumer complaints.1Kentucky.gov. About the Public Service Commission Investor-owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives both answer to it. Water districts and water associations do too, though a few specific items — most notably their late-payment charge — are set directly by statute and sit outside the PSC’s power to change.
Under KRS 278.030, every utility is required to charge only “fair, just and reasonable rates” and to provide “adequate, efficient and reasonable service.”2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 278.030 – Rates, Classifications and Service of Utilities to Be Just and Reasonable Rate increases don’t take effect automatically. The utility files an application, the PSC reviews the cost and financial data, and the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Rate Intervention can enter the case on behalf of consumers under KRS 367.150, introducing evidence, cross-examining witnesses, and appealing orders it disagrees with.3Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 367.150 – Functions, Powers and Duties of Department of Law The PSC must give at least 20 days’ notice of any hearing that could affect rates or service, and case documents are posted online.4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 278.260 – Jurisdiction Over Complaints as to Rates or Service
Deposits, Interest, and Billing Charges
A utility can require a cash deposit, but the amount is capped. For monthly-billed accounts, the deposit cannot exceed two months of your actual or estimated annual bill.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Administrative Regulations 807 KAR 5:006 – General Rules A utility also cannot demand a deposit from you solely because you rent rather than own.
Any deposit the utility holds earns interest. For 2026, the PSC set the customer deposit interest rate at 3.64%, derived from the one-year constant maturity treasury rate averaged across September, October, and November of the prior year.6Kentucky Public Service Commission. Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Interest on Customer Deposits Water districts and water associations may pay a lower rate tied to what they earn on their own accounts.
If you’re on a water district or water association bill, KRS 278.0154 permits a late payment charge of 10% of the amount billed when you miss the due date. The charge can only be assessed once per billing cycle, cannot be applied to the late fee itself, and must be waived for any portion of the bill covered by third-party assistance such as the Low-Income Household Drinking Water and Wastewater Emergency Assistance Program.7Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 278.0154 – Water District or Water Association May Assess Customer a Late Payment Charge The PSC has no authority to modify or reject this particular charge because it is written into statute.
When a Utility Can Shut Off Your Service
Notice is required before any nonpayment disconnection. Electric and gas utilities must give at least 10 days’ written notice. Water, sewer, and telephone utilities must give at least 5 days’ written notice.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Administrative Regulations 807 KAR 5:006 – General Rules Use that window to arrange payment, request a payment plan, or contact the PSC.
Kentucky has no blanket prohibition on disconnections during extreme cold or heat. There are no temperature cutoffs in current regulation that automatically freeze shutoffs. Senate Bill 88, introduced in the 2026 session, would require every utility to file an extreme weather disconnection plan with the PSC describing how it would prevent residential disconnections during National Weather Service Extreme Cold or Extreme Heat Warnings and during declared natural disasters, with those plans published on the PSC’s and the utility’s websites.8Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Senate Bill 88 – An Act Relating to Protection From Extreme Weather Conditions Until a bill like that becomes law, weather alone does not bar a shutoff.
The Medical Certificate Hold
If a physician, registered nurse, or public health officer certifies in writing that disconnection would aggravate a serious illness or medical condition of someone living in the home, the utility cannot terminate service for 30 days past the original shutoff date.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Administrative Regulations 807 KAR 5:006 – General Rules During that 30-day hold, the utility cannot demand a new deposit as a condition of keeping service on.
Extensions beyond the first 30 days are possible, but the utility is allowed to refuse consecutive extensions unless the new certificate comes with an agreed partial payment plan. If someone in the household has an ongoing condition, get a certificate on file before falling behind, not after a disconnect notice has already arrived.
If You Can’t Pay
LIHEAP
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program covers heating, cooling, and crisis assistance. For the program year running October 2025 through September 2026, household income must sit at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines to qualify for those components.9Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. LIHEAP Detailed Model Plan – Report Period 10/01/2025 to 09/30/2026 Weatherization under LIHEAP uses a higher threshold of 200%. Anyone in your household receiving TANF, SSI, SNAP, or means-tested Veterans Program benefits qualifies automatically, and households under 110% of the poverty level cannot be excluded even if income technically exceeds the main threshold, though highest-energy-cost households get priority.
Weatherization Assistance
The Kentucky Weatherization Assistance Program pays for insulation, heating system repair or replacement, air sealing, and safety items like carbon monoxide detectors rather than paying bills directly. Income at or below 125% of the poverty level qualifies, as does any household where a member received SSI or TANF in the past year. Average annual energy savings run roughly $300 per home.
Net Metering for Rooftop Solar
Residential solar and other small renewable systems can connect to the grid and receive credit for excess generation under KRS 278.465. Eligible systems are capped at 45 kilowatts of rated capacity.10Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 278.465 – Definitions for KRS 278.465 to 278.468 Credits come as dollar-denominated bill credits, not checks. Excess credit rolls to the next billing period, but it does not transfer to another customer or property, and there is no cash refund if you close the account.
There is a program-wide cap. Once the total capacity of net metering systems on a utility’s network reaches 1% of that utility’s single-hour peak load, the utility’s obligation to accept new net metering customers ends.11Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. House Bill 593 – An Act Relating to Data Centers Systems connected before the utility’s initial net metering order are grandfathered with one-to-one kilowatt-hour energy credits for 25 years at that location.
You cannot energize a system before the utility approves an interconnection application and completes inspection. The PSC’s guidelines split applications into two tracks: Level 1 covers inverter-based systems certified to UL 1741 that meet specified conditions, with 20 business days for the utility to act; Level 2 covers everything else, with 30 business days.12Kentucky Public Service Commission. Interconnection and Net Metering Guidelines If the utility’s equipment needs modifications to accommodate your system, you pay for them.
Choosing a Natural Gas Supplier
Supplier choice in Kentucky is narrow. Residential and small commercial customers of Columbia Gas of Kentucky can pick an alternative gas supplier through the Columbia Gas Customer Choice program, which has operated under PSC approval since 2000.13Kentucky Public Service Commission. Columbia Gas Customer Choice Pilot Program The choice applies only to the gas commodity portion of the bill; Columbia Gas continues to handle transportation, distribution, billing, and safety regardless of the supplier you pick, and the PSC posts a comparison of approved marketers.
Customers of any other gas utility, and all electric customers statewide, do not get to choose a supplier. Those utilities operate as traditional regulated monopolies.
Filing a Complaint
Start with the utility. Most billing and service disputes get resolved at that stage, and the PSC expects you to try first. If the utility won’t fix it, the PSC’s Consumer Services staff can take the issue up informally on your behalf.14Kentucky Public Service Commission. Complaints
When informal contact doesn’t resolve things, you can file a formal written complaint. Under KRS 278.260, the PSC has original jurisdiction over complaints about rates or service, and you may allege that a rate is unreasonable or discriminatory, that a utility practice is unsafe or insufficient, or that service is inadequate. No order affecting the rates or service you’re complaining about can issue without a formal public hearing, at which both you and the utility may appear in person or through an attorney, present evidence, and cross-examine witnesses.4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 278.260 – Jurisdiction Over Complaints as to Rates or Service The PSC can also dismiss a complaint without a hearing if it finds one unnecessary to protect substantial rights.
Appealing a PSC Order
A final PSC order can be challenged in Franklin Circuit Court within 30 days after the order is served, on the grounds that it is unlawful or unreasonable. If you first requested a rehearing and the PSC denied it, whether expressly or by failing to act, you have 20 days from that denial to file suit.15Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 278.410 – Action to Review Order of Commission The case proceeds on the equity side of the court’s docket and injunctive relief is available. Miss the deadline and the order stands.
What a Utility Faces for Breaking the Rules
Under KRS 278.990, any utility officer, agent, employee, or other person who willfully violates KRS Chapter 278 or a PSC regulation, or fails to obey a final PSC order, faces a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per offense, and willful violations can also draw criminal penalties of up to six months’ imprisonment.16Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 278.990 – Penalties The PSC can also order refunds to overcharged customers, require operational changes, and demand reporting to verify the problem has been fixed.