BRADENTON, Fla. - Kentucky cities and municipal utility boards have formed a new joint action agency as they plan to shed contracts with investor-owned Kentucky Utilities.
The 11-member Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency met Sept. 24 to elect officers, according to the Journal-Courier.
KMEA members have already given notice that they intend to exit contracts with Kentucky Utilities and begin buying what they hope will be less costly power starting in 2019, the paper said.
"We can work better as a group," new chairman Ron Herd reportedly said. Herd is general manager of Corbin Utilities Commission.
It is not yet clear if the agency will use bond financing for its endeavors, though early plans do not include building or purchasing power producing facilities.
Along with Corbin Utilities, other members of KMEA are Barbourville Utilities Commission, Benham Electric Plant Board, Frankfort Electric Plant Board, and the cities of Bardwell, Falmouth, Madisonville, Owensboro, Paris, and Providence.
Owensboro Municipal Utilities is also a member as a wholesale provider. The city of Berea also is considering whether it will join the new agency.
The move to create a municipal power agency reportedly was prompted by higher contract demands last fall by Kentucky Utilities, which is a subsidiary of PPL Corp.
Herd said the agency had already done a power supply study and "found some better options," according to the paper.
Buying excess power from Owensboro Municipal is under consideration.
KMEA is also preparing to request proposals to buy electricity from providers.
A presentation to the Berea City Council in May said KMEA had engaged number of energy, financial, and legal consultants.
The firms include Florida-based nFront Consulting, the law firms of Rubin & Hays and Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP, economic consultants NewGen Strategies & Solutions LLC, and Public Financial Management Inc.
