Kentucky Utilities electric rates and bills
Kentucky Utilities's 454,021 residential customers in Kentucky paid an average of 11.90¢ per kWh in 2025, for an average bill of $138.47 a month on 1,164 kWh.1 Over the last 12 months (Sep 2025–Aug 2026) the average was 12.85¢, and 12.50¢ in August 2026.2
EIA-861 2025 final (released October 7, 2026) and EIA's monthly utility survey through August 2026 (preliminary); next monthly update expected November 24, 2026. Averages are revenue divided by kWh, all charges included: not the rate printed in a tariff.
77 of 120 Kentucky counties served (EIA-861 2025)
Kentucky Utilities serves more Kentucky homes than any other utility, and its residential customers paid an average of 11.90¢ per kWh in 2025, 9.4% below the Kentucky average. The price barely moved from 2024, yet the average bill changed by +6.5%1 because homes used more, and the heaviest month is January, not July.
What a kWh costs KU's customers
Kentucky Utilities, usually shortened to KU, delivered and sold electricity to 454,021 residential customers in Kentucky in 2025, 22.0% of the state's homes. Those customers paid 11.90¢ per kWh on average, the 4th lowest of the 32 Kentucky utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers. Among the 177 US utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers it ranked tied for 15th lowest of 177, and it was 33.1% below the national average for investor-owned utilities (17.78¢ per kWh1).
That figure is average revenue per kWh: what residential customers paid in total, divided by the kWh they used. It folds in the monthly basic service charge, the fuel adjustment clause and the riders on the bill, and it is not the energy rate printed in KU's tariff. A household that uses little pays more per kWh than the average because the fixed charge is spread over fewer kWh.
Three periods give three figures. The 2025 annual average from EIA-861 is 11.90¢ per kWh1. EIA's monthly survey (EIA-861M) puts the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026 at 12.85¢ per kWh, and August 20263 alone at 12.50¢ per kWh2; months since January 2026 are preliminary.
Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.
Show the numbers
| Utility | average residential price (bundled customers) |
|---|---|
| Kentucky Utilities (KY) | 11.90¢ |
| LG&E (KY) | 12.42¢ |
| Duke Energy Kentucky (KY) | 13.86¢ |
| Kentucky Power (KY) | 15.95¢ |
The other three large Kentucky utilities averaged 12.42¢ per kWh (LG&E), 13.86¢ per kWh (Duke Energy Kentucky) and 15.95¢ per kWh (Kentucky Power) in 2025. Across all Kentucky utilities with 10,000 or more homes, averages ran from 10.90¢ per kWh to 17.66¢ per kWh1.
The February 2026 rate order
KU's most recent base-rate case was its first request for an increase since 2020, according to the Kentucky Public Service Commission's February 16, 2026 announcement. In that final order the commission approved, with modifications, a settlement between KU, LG&E and several intervening parties, granting a smaller residential increase than KU had first requested and rejecting the proposed sharing mechanism that would have kept the companies' return on equity within a set range. The approved rates apply to service from February 16, 2026; the case file holds the order, the rate appendices and later corrections.
EIA's 2025 annual figures predate the order. The monthly data already show higher averages: 12.85¢ per kWh over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, the later months of which fall under the new rates, and 12.50¢ per kWh in August 20263, +5.8%2 on the same month of August 2025. Monthly prices move with the season and fuel adjustments, so one month is a reading, not a trend; the next monthly release is due November 24, 2026.
Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Residential revenue divided by kWh in each month, as reported to EIA's monthly survey (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary).
Show the numbers
| Month | Kentucky Utilities (¢/kWh) | kWh per customer | Bill per customer |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | 11.35¢ | 2,007 | $227.79 |
| February 2025 | 11.65¢ | 1,285 | $149.70 |
| March 2025 | 12.02¢ | 1,045 | $125.67 |
| April 2025 | 12.42¢ | 814 | $101.11 |
| May 2025 | 12.79¢ | 788 | $100.75 |
| June 2025 | 11.66¢ | 1,154 | $134.56 |
| July 2025 | 11.62¢ | 1,442 | $167.50 |
| August 2025 | 11.82¢ | 1,156 | $136.62 |
| September 2025 | 12.19¢ | 904 | $110.13 |
| October 2025 | 12.47¢ | 847 | $105.69 |
| November 2025 | 12.21¢ | 997 | $121.69 |
| December 2025 | 11.79¢ | 1,530 | $180.38 |
| January 2026 | 14.16¢ | 1,853 | $262.42 |
| February 2026 | 12.70¢ | 1,363 | $173.08 |
| March 2026 | 13.20¢ | 947 | $124.93 |
| April 2026 | 13.71¢ | 759 | $104.06 |
| May 2026 | 13.48¢ | 838 | $113.02 |
| June 2026 | 12.96¢ | 1,076 | $139.52 |
| July 2026 | 12.66¢ | 1,338 | $169.50 |
| August 2026 | 12.50¢ | 1,266 | $158.29 |
How base rates, fuel adjustments and riders reach a bill is explained in the guide to rate increases.
A flat price and a bigger bill in 2025
From 2024 to 2025 the residential average price rose only 0.4%, from 11.85¢ per kWh to 11.90¢ per kWh. The average monthly bill rose from $129.98 to $138.47 (+6.5%), because use per home went from 1,097 kWh4 to 1,164 kWh1 a month. Nearly all of the 2025 increase in KU bills came from consumption, not price.
KU homes use more than the Kentucky average (1,094 kWh a month in 2025), and Kentucky is already 7th highest among the states for use per home. That is why KU's bill sits close to the state's ($143.725) even though its price is lower.
January is KU's heaviest month
Over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, KU's use per home peaked at 1,853 kWh in January 2026, with an average bill of $262.42. The low came in April 2026: 759 kWh and $104.062. In the Census Bureau's 2025 survey, 55.2% of Kentucky households heated mainly with electricity, 13th highest6 among the states (an estimate with a margin of error), and in EIA's 2020 household survey space heating took 20% of a Kentucky home's electricity, 5th highest7.
Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility. kWh per residential customer in each month (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary). The table adds the average bill and price for the month.
Show the numbers
| Month | kWh per customer | Bill per customer | ¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 904 | $110.13 | 12.19¢ |
| October 2025 | 847 | $105.69 | 12.47¢ |
| November 2025 | 997 | $121.69 | 12.21¢ |
| December 2025 | 1,530 | $180.38 | 11.79¢ |
| January 2026 | 1,853 | $262.42 | 14.16¢ |
| February 2026 | 1,363 | $173.08 | 12.70¢ |
| March 2026 | 947 | $124.93 | 13.20¢ |
| April 2026 | 759 | $104.06 | 13.71¢ |
| May 2026 | 838 | $113.02 | 13.48¢ |
| June 2026 | 1,076 | $139.52 | 12.96¢ |
| July 2026 | 1,338 | $169.50 | 12.66¢ |
| August 2026 | 1,266 | $158.29 | 12.50¢ |
Its sister company LG&E, which serves Louisville, peaked in a different season over the same 12 months: 1,371 kWh in July 20262. For a KU household, the winter bill, not the summer one, is the one to budget for.
Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.
Show the numbers
| Utility | average monthly residential use |
|---|---|
| Duke Energy Kentucky (KY) | 926 |
| LG&E (KY) | 937 |
| Kentucky Utilities (KY) | 1,164 |
| Kentucky Power (KY) | 1,235 |
Where KU serves, and who else does
EIA's 2025 service-territory records list KU in 778 Kentucky counties, and in every one of them at least one other utility also reports customers. Electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and other investor-owned companies serve parts of the same counties, so a county or a city name does not settle who serves a home: KU's own service map decides by address. Kentucky has no residential retail choice (EIA counts no residential customers with an alternative supplier), so the utility at the address is also the supplier.
Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 77 counties. Counts whole counties even where the utility serves only part of one; check the utility's own service-area map for an address.
Kentucky's cooperatives averaged 13.60¢ per kWh for residential customers in 2025, against 11.90¢ per kWh1 at KU. KU also serves customers in Virginia, as the commission's announcement notes; EIA reports them separately, and this page covers Kentucky only.
Smart meters everywhere, almost no time-of-use
Advanced meters made up 94.8% of KU's residential meters in EIA's 2025 count, but only 119 residential customers were enrolled in a time-of-use rate (0.0%10). The meters can record use by the hour; nearly every KU household is still billed on a standard rate. The time-of-use guide explains the mechanics.
Rooftop solar is uncommon: 2,601 net-metered residential installations with 23.1 megawatts of capacity, 5.7 per 1,000 customers, against 8.610 at LG&E. The bill credit for exported power is set in KU's tariff; see the net metering guide.
Outages in 2025
KU customers averaged 197 minutes without power in 2025 including major event days, fewer than the Kentucky average of 408 minutes, and 89 minutes excluding them, with 1.14 interruptions per customer (IEEE 1366). Kentucky as a whole ranked 9th highest11 among the states on outage minutes. The figure with major event days moves with each year's storms, so one year can differ sharply from the next.
Businesses, and help with the bill
KU's commercial customers paid 11.63¢ per kWh on average in 2025 and its 1,596 industrial accounts 7.08¢ per kWh; across all customer classes the average was 10.19¢ per kWh1.
Households struggling with winter bills can apply for LIHEAP, the federal heating and cooling assistance program, which allocated $56.5 million12 to Kentucky for fiscal year 2026. The guide to help paying an electric bill lists the options, and electricity in Kentucky covers the state's other utilities.
Questions and answers
How much does Kentucky Utilities charge per kWh?
On average, 11.90¢ per kWh1 for residential customers in 2025: all residential revenue divided by all residential kWh, so the basic service charge, fuel adjustment and other riders are included. Over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, which include the months after the February 2026 rate order, the average was 12.85¢ per kWh2. Tariff energy rates are a different, narrower number.
Did Kentucky Utilities raise rates in 2026?
Yes. The Kentucky Public Service Commission issued its final order in KU's rate case on February 16, 2026, approving a modified settlement, with new rates for service from that date. In EIA's monthly data, KU's residential average in August 20263 was 12.50¢ per kWh, +5.8%2 against the same month a year earlier (preliminary).
What is the average Kentucky Utilities bill?
$138.47 a month in 2025 for 1,164 kWh1, and $146.98 over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026). Winter bills are the largest: the monthly average reached $262.42 in January 20262.
Is KU cheaper than LG&E?
Per kWh, slightly: 11.90¢ per kWh at KU and 12.42¢ per kWh at LG&E in 2025. KU homes use more electricity, though, so the average KU bill ($138.47) was higher than LG&E's ($116.371). The address decides which company serves a home.
Related pages
Sources
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; table sales_ult_cust_2025 and _2026; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state; table sales_revenue.xlsx (EPM Table 5.6.A); January 2001 to 2026-08; months since January 2026 preliminary; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2024 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2024; 2024, final (file updated December 3, 2025); released December 3, 2025. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, average monthly bill by state; table Average_Bill_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates, house heating fuel, table B25040; 2025; released October 29, 2026. data.census.gov
- EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, state data; table CE4.1.EL.ST, CE5 state tables, state highlights; released June 28, 2023. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, service territory; table Service_Territory_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties; table cb_2025_us_county_5m; cb_2021_us_county_5m; 2025 (2021 for Connecticut). www.census.gov
- EIA-861 2025, advanced meters, dynamic pricing and net metering; table Advanced_Meters, Dynamic_Pricing, Net_Metering 2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, reliability; table Reliability_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- HHS, LIHEAP funding releases to states; table FY2027 first release; FY2026 final; FY2027 first release (October 9, 2026); FY2026 total; released October 9, 2026. acf.gov
Margins of error (±) are at the 90% confidence level. A difference is called significant only when it passes the Census Bureau's test at that level. How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.