Leaders from across Kentucky’s energy policy, legislative, and local communities gathered on Aug. 18 for “Kentucky’s Data Center Opportunity: Growth, Reliability, and Ratepayer Protection,” a virtual discussion hosted by the Dependable Power First Kentucky coalition.
The conversation featured Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC) executive director Eric King, Senate Majority Caucus Chair Robby Mills, and East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) general counsel David Samford. Throughout the discussion, speakers emphasized that Kentucky’s existing dependable generation, particularly its coal fleet, is the Commonwealth’s greatest asset as electricity demand growth accelerates.
King opened by explaining some key findings from EPIC’s first report on data centers, including lessons learned from other states. The report found that Kentucky is in a comparatively stronger position to protect ratepayers as new large loads arrive thanks to proactive efforts across government and industry to avoid mistakes made elsewhere. “Kentucky is better protected than most people understand, and the reason is our structure,” said King. “Our legislators want to get this right. They want to be empowered by asking the right questions, and that is at the core of who EPIC is and what we will become over the next couple years.”
He expanded on what makes data centers a unique challenge for planners and why firm, around-the-clock generation is a critical part of the solution, noting: “Data centers run around the clock. Typically, they have a very high load factor, and that means they need firm capacity nearly every hour of every day.”
King also made the case for leaning on the generation Kentucky already has before rushing to build new infrastructure. “My view is that the fastest megawatt available in Kentucky is the one that’s already interconnected and running,” he added. “So that’s an argument about fuel. That’s just math.”
Sen. Mills, a sponsor of the legislation that created EPIC, described how his concern over the gradual closure of Kentucky’s coal-fired plants, largely because of federal regulations designed to accelerate a transition to wind and solar resources, inspired him to help reform our state’s energy planning process. “All of a sudden, we see these quiet closings of power plants, and I was just really concerned about that, so I thought that there was something that needed to be done to protect our coal fleet and our baseload generation,” he said.
Looking ahead to the 2027 General Assembly session, Sen. Mills said preserving the coal fleet is central to how Kentucky plans to meet rising data center demand. “Extending the life of our coal fleet and the coal generation that we have, I think that is something that’s going to occur with these data centers,” he noted. “I think we’re all heading down that path of trying to extend the coal fleet years into the future.”
Samford shared the utility perspective, describing how EKPC spent years developing a data center tariff built on a single principle designed to protect ratepayers: businesses responsible for driving up the costs of electricity are responsible for paying those costs. “The theme of our data center tariff is that if you cause us to incur a cost as a data center, you should be responsible for paying that,” he explained.
He also underscored that the extraordinary reliability that data centers require is expensive, and can only be met by affordable, dispatchable generation like coal. “For a data center, 99.6% reliability may not be adequate,” Samford said. “They want five nines, 99.999%, and you can get there, but it’s much more expensive.”
Samford cautioned that building new generation is a slow process, reinforcing the case for maximizing Kentucky’s existing dependable resources, noting: “It can take easily six to seven years to develop a power plant, and what that really costs us is delays in time or delays in opportunities and investment.”
The takeaway from the discussion was clear: Kentucky can capture the economic upside of the data center boom without shifting costs onto families and businesses, but only by first extending the life of the dependable coal fleet that already keeps the lights on.
“We are grateful to Eric King, Sen. Robby Mills, and David Samford for their participation in this event and for their valuable insights,” said Dependable Power First Kentucky coalition spokesperson Woody Maglinger. “We look forward to continuing to support their work to protect Kentucky families and businesses by prioritizing dependable, affordable power.”
To learn more about Dependable Power First Kentucky, please visit DependablePowerKY.com.
A link to an archived video recording of the full “Kentucky’s Data Center Opportunity” webinar is available at: bit.ly/DPFvideo
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Dependable Power First Kentucky works to promote a reliable, resilient, and affordable electricity supply for all Kentuckians by bringing together diverse stakeholders from across the state to shift the conversation around reliability and support policies that achieve this goal. For more information, please visit DependablePowerKY.com.
