Kentucky Power Files Plans to Deliver Customer Savings and Advance Kentucky’s Economic Future
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Filings seek approval for new generation and transmission infrastructure to support growth while delivering benefits for existing customers
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Kentucky Power today filed plans with the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) to bring significant new economic development to eastern Kentucky while delivering direct financial benefits to existing customers and protecting them from the costs of serving new large-load customers.
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The filings would support TeraWulf’s planned Muskie Data Campus in Grayson, Kentucky, and the infrastructure needed to serve it. Over the life of the agreement, the project is expected to provide Kentucky Power customers with more than $500 million in fixed-cost rate offsets and $100 million in winter bill credits for residential customers.
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“Our commitment to eastern Kentucky goes beyond providing reliable electricity. We’ve served these communities for generations, and we want our customers and communities to share directly in the benefits when new investment comes to the region,” said Cindy Wiseman, president and chief operating officer of Kentucky Power. “Eastern Kentucky has a tremendous opportunity ahead, and thoughtful growth can strengthen our electric system, support good jobs and attract new investment.”
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Supporting eastern Kentucky’s economic growth
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Kentucky Power announced its amended agreement with TeraWulf in October, and today’s filings mark the next step in seeking the regulatory approvals needed to move the project forward.
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TeraWulf’s planned Muskie Data Campus is expected to support up to 1 gigawatt of contracted electric demand in phases by 2029, subject to regulatory approval and construction schedules. To reliably serve that demand, Kentucky Power is seeking approval to construct a new 760-MW combined-cycle natural gas facility next to its Big Sandy natural gas generating unit in Louisa and a new transmission substation in the EastPark Industrial Park area.
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The planned Muskie Data Campus also is expected to generate new economic activity through infrastructure investment, construction activity, permanent jobs and new tax revenue for local communities.
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Delivering benefits for existing customers
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If approved by the PSC, TeraWulf will fund $100 million in winter bill credits for Kentucky Power’s residential customers beginning in 2029 and continuing over the first 10 years of the contract.
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Kentucky Power signed the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge, reaffirming its commitment that growth should pay for growth while delivering long-term value for existing customers. Additionally, Kentucky Power’s large-load tariff requires data centers to provide financial backing for the cost to serve their projects before they connect to the grid.
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In addition to paying all applicable service charges, TeraWulf has agreed to pay the estimated financing costs associated with construction of the proposed generation facility at Big Sandy. Together, these protections are designed to ensure the costs associated with serving TeraWulf’s new demand are paid for by TeraWulf, while allowing new and existing customers to share in the benefits created by the growth.
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Today’s filings begin the next phase of regulatory review for the proposed agreement and infrastructure. The generation facility and transmission infrastructure each require separate Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity from the PSC. Subject to the PSC’s review schedule, decisions on the filings could come as early as mid-year 2027.
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Kentucky Power, with headquarters in Ashland, provides electric service to about 162,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties, including Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Rowan. Kentucky Power is an operating company in the American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) system. For more information, visit kentuckypower.com.
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