FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear acknowledged that many residents are struggling to pay their utility bills as winter approaches, but said he lacks the legal authority to ban power disconnections through executive action.
"I recognize that people are in danger. It's tougher to pay your utility bills than it's been in a while," Beshear said.
The governor was responding to calls from advocacy groups like Kentuckians for Energy Democracy, who have pushed for emergency action to prevent utility shutoffs during cold weather.
On Monday, the group rallied outside of the state Capitol, urging the governor to protect residents from having their electricity shut off during winter months.
"A lot of states have temperature-based disconnection protection," said Cara Cooper with Kentuckians for Energy Democracy.
Cooper said some Kentucky residents have had their power disconnected during the coldest months over amounts as low as $9. Cooper said while utility companies claim they don't disconnect power during winter, there's no legal protection preventing them from doing so in Kentucky.
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"What we've heard from utility companies across the board is 'well we don't need any legislation, we don't need any policy because we already don't disconnect people when the weather is cold or when the weather is hot,' but the data that we have shows that there are thousands of disconnections," Cooper said. "Like over 9,000 disconnections in January alone of this year - when we know the average temperature was about 30 degrees."
The groups emphasized they're not seeking debt forgiveness for unpaid bills. Customers would still be required to pay their utility bills, but advocates want to ensure power stays on when temperatures are at their lowest.
"We're not saying let's forgive people's debts. We're saying let's give people some breathing room and make sure that nobody dies in their home this winter because they can't afford their electric," Cooper said.
Beshear said while he understands the affordability problem, he does not have legal authority to ban power shutoffs through executive action.
"I don't have the legal authority to do that," Beshear said said. "What they cite was during COVID I was able to do it, but COVID was a worldwide health pandemic and we had a very broad state of emergency."
Beshear said he plans to unveil a proposal to help Kentuckians with utility costs during his annual State of the Commonwealth address in early January.
"They're going to see a proposal to help people during this winter weather and times as well as the heat of summer to make sure that everybody can get by," Beshear said.
