FRANKFORT, KY (March 16, 2023) – The following is a statement from the Kentucky Coal Association (KCA) regarding the passage of State Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Senator Robby Mills, which will help protect the state’s electric grid from the threat posed by the ill-advised closure of much of the state’s coal-fired electric generation fleet.
“Kentuckians are common sense people. When you find yourself stuck in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging. It has been obvious for some time that the continued closing of the state’s coal-fired power plants is bad policy and something had to be done to protect the long-term stability of the electric grid. The near failure of the grid to meet demand this past December brought the issue to the fore.
Today, the Kentucky General Assembly took a big step toward guaranteeing Kentuckians can feel confident that when they flip the light switch or turn on their furnace, the electricity they need will be there. The Kentucky House passed Senate Bill 4 on a 66-28 vote. The bill will now go to Governor Beshear for his signature.
We trust the Governor will sign this common-sense bill. Nothing is more important in the modern world than the ready and reliable availability of affordable electricity. It is the lifeblood of industry. Without it, nothing works. No lights, no heat, no television, electric vehicles, computers, none of the comforts of modern life. Kentucky’s ready access to affordable and almost limitless electricity is why so many major manufacturers have chosen the state as home.
However, the continuing closure of power stations across Kentucky and across the country, has robbed our state of the certainty that our coal-fired baseload generating plants provided for so long. Last December, due in large part to these closures, combined with the inability of renewable and natural gas plants to meet demand during the bone-chilling temperatures the state was seeing, threatened to push the grid past the breaking point to failure. The result would have been catastrophic and life-threatening. Today, the House joined the Senate in the passage of SB4, effectively drawing a line in the sand and saying ‘no’ to further cuts without a full accounting of the impact on the economy and human life.”
For more information contact Tucker Davis at the Kentucky Coal Association at (859)233-4743 or via email at tdavis@kentuckycoal.com.