OP-ED: Coal keeps Kentucky’s lights on and bills low
by Katelyn Bunning – Executive Director, Dependable Power First Kentucky
Families and small businesses across the Commonwealth depend on affordable and reliable power. That’s why maintaining a balanced energy mix, anchored by coal, is crucial to ensuring a robust economy for future generations.
A recent analysis by Energy Ventures Analysis (EVA), prepared for Dependable Power First Kentucky and America’s Power, highlights just how important coal remains to our state’s energy future. The report found that coal generates about 67% of Kentucky’s electricity, keeping average retail electricity rates 22% lower than the national average. In fact, our power costs are consistently among the lowest in the eastern half of the United States.
That’s not an accident. Coal plants provide stable, baseload electricity and maintain large stockpiles of fuel onsite that guarantee fuel security – always on, always ready – at prices that don’t swing wildly with fuel markets. The fleet also serves as an insurance policy: as protection against the risk of other fuels’ price spikes and as protection against the risk of electricity shortages when other fuels fail during extreme weather events.
Some critics argue that coal is too costly, but these claims rely on broad, inaccurate assumptions that don’t reflect how the grid actually works. For example, they treat temporary emergency measures that the U.S. Department of Energy is issuing to keep critical power plants online as political in nature, rather than as vital for preventing blackouts amid skyrocketing electricity demand. They also often assume that every previously announced power plant retirement would occur on schedule if not for the EPA’s recently announced regulatory reforms, even as many states are scrambling to postpone these retirements in a desperate bid to keep the lights on. The reality is far more nuanced. Coal is not the only solution, but without it the foundation of a reliable and affordable energy system becomes dangerously fragile.
That’s why Kentucky’s “all-of-the-above” strategy that includes coal, natural gas, renewables, and other sources has been more successful. By maintaining coal as a cornerstone to keep the entire system stable, we’ve preserved affordability and reliability even as demand for electricity grows dramatically – from data centers to manufacturing to everyday household needs. Rolling blackouts are no longer a distant concern – they’ve already occurred in parts of the country that moved too quickly to close dependable power plants.
Our state’s gradual increase in power prices since 2001 isn’t due to coal. It’s because of greater reliance on other, less stable energy sources and because of onerous federal regulations that were designed to shut down baseload power plants. That’s why the EVA paper is so timely. It reminds us that coal’s dependability and cost stability are not just economic talking points. They’re lifelines for families living paycheck to paycheck, for factories deciding whether to stay in Kentucky or move overseas, and for hospitals that can’t afford a flicker in the lights.
The lesson is simple: Kentucky has benefited from sticking with an all-of-the-above energy mix, with coal at its center, and we should not abandon what works. Natural gas, nuclear, and renewables all have a role to play. But we must be honest about their limitations. Intermittent sources like wind and solar cannot yet provide the around-the-clock reliability our grid requires.
Affordable, reliable electricity doesn’t just happen. It requires planning, investment, and a recognition of what actually works in practice, not just in theory. Coal has worked for Kentucky for decades, and if we’re serious about keeping the lights on at prices families can afford, it must remain an essential part of our all-of-the-above energy future. As policymakers in Washington debate the future of America’s energy mix, they should look to Kentucky as a model.
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Katelyn Bunning serves as executive director of Dependable Power First Kentucky. This statewide organization seeks to promote the Commonwealth’s energy security and the economic well-being of Kentuckians by advocating an all-of-the-above approach to power generation that leverages the best aspects of all available sources.
