House Budget Review Subcommittee Highlights Municipal Utility Pro

The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Protection, Tourism, and Energy met Wednesday to hear testimony from the Energy and Environment Cabinet on state-owned dams and Kentucky’s Grid Resilience Grant Funds. Cabinet officials provided updates on dam safety priorities, infrastructure investments, and electric grid modernization efforts.

The subcommittee  received an update on Kentucky’s Grid Resilience Program, which is designed to prevent outages and strengthen the electric grid using federal funding. One hundred percent of Kentucky’s available Section 40101(d) grid resilience funding is allocated to distribution cooperatives and municipal electric utilities. Early funding years prioritize state park facilities and municipal systems, with later years expanding support to additional utilities.

Several municipal utility projects were highlighted, including infrastructure upgrades in Owensboro, Princeton, Williamstown, and Hopkinsville. In Owensboro, funding supports the relocation and replacement of a municipal transmission tower away from the Ohio River to improve reliability and reduce safety risks. Princeton Electric Plant Board is upgrading electric infrastructure, replacing poles, installing approximately 4,200 smart meters, and enhancing its outage management system. Williamstown is improving grid reliability and capacity through distribution line and pole replacements, while Hopkinsville Electric System is implementing a new outage management system and replacing approximately 10,000 residential meters as part of an advanced metering infrastructure upgrade.

Officials also discussed grid resilience projects at Kenlake State Park and Kentucky Dam Village State Park, where aging electric distribution systems are being upgraded to meet safety code requirements. Once improvements are completed, the systems are expected to be transferred to West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation for long-term maintenance. Cabinet officials noted that agreements with the parks are nearing completion, with construction expected to begin in the first quarter.

According to the cabinet, the combined federal, state, and local investment for grid resilience projects totals more than $23 million, with several projects already under contract and moving forward. Members of the subcommittee indicated continued interest in ensuring infrastructure assets are transferred to entities best equipped to maintain them and reduce long-term risk to the state.