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Mountain Eagle - 1.22.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Heisberg. Your reader today is Bills and Arsdale. We
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will begin with the addition dated January twenty first, twenty
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twenty six, which the publishers have donated to RADIOI as
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a reminder. RADIOI is a reading service intended for people
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who are blind or have other disabilities that make it
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difficult to read printed material. The first headline is while
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Bills Rise, AEP posts billions in profits. Families struggle to
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pay monthly bills while Kentucky Power's parent firm pays billions
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to shareholders. While customers here worry about keeping the lights on.
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The people at the top of Kentucky Power's corporate ladder
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are doing just fine. Picture this. You open your monthly
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bill from Kentucky Power Company and feel your stomach drop.
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The bill is much higher than normal, and you know
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the company is asking state regulators to approve another large
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rate increase while you already pay some of the highest
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electric bills in the United States. Now picture this. Executives
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from large investment companies that control nearly eighty seven percent
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of Kentucky Power's parent company, American Electric Power AEP, are
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in their offices in places like New York City, Boston, Philadelphia,
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Fort Lauderdale, even Abu Dhabi, discussing how they ended twenty
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twenty five with dividend payments from AEP totaling about one
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point seventy four billion dollars and are confident they will
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earn even more money in twenty twenty six. That figure
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reflects dividend payments to the large institutional investors who own
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most of AEP's stock and picture this insight AEP's thirty
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one story headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. Top executives continued to
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congratulate themselves for helping deliver more than three billion dollars
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in total earnings in twenty twenty five, a large share
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of which nearly two billion dollars was returned to shareholders
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as dividends paid on AEP's roughly five hundred thirty four
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million outstanding shares of stock. That all may sound like
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a scene from a movie about big city financial titans
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living large while rural families struggle to afford food, medicine,
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and their power bills, but it isn't fiction. All of
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AEP's earnings, dividend payments, and ownership information are documented in
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publicly available SEC filings and utility regulatory records reviewed by
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The Mountain Eagle. We began examining those records after a
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question posed by Jenkins City Councilman Rick Damren during a
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Kentucky Public Service Commission PSC hearing and hazard where residents
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were invited to comment on Kentucky Power's request for a
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fourteen point nine percent increase in its base residential energy charge.
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When fuel adjustments, environmental surcharges, and taxes are added, the
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total increase would exceed sixteen percent, though Kentucky Power is
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now asking the PSC to approve an eight percent increase
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this year and a nine percent increase in twenty twenty seven.
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Damren's question cut to the heart of the matter, who
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owns the power company and where do the profits go.
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American Electric Power is the sole owner of Kentucky Power,
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but AEP itself is not owned by a single person.
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It is a publicly traded company dominated by large institutional investors,
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including mutual funds and asset management firms. The five largest
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holders of AEP stock are Vanguard Group, Incorporating, based in
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the Philadelphia suburb of Malvern, with fifty one point seven
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million shares, Black Rock Advisors LLC, New York City with
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thirty nine point nine million shares, State Street Corporation Boston
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with twenty nine million shares, GQG Partners LLC based in
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Fort Lauderdale and Abu Dhabi with eighteen point nine million shares,
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and Wellington Management Group LLP, Boston with sixteen point six
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million shares. Together, those five firms control AEP stock worth
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more than thirteen point four billion dollars. According to the
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website pestlanalysis dot com, AEP earned about three point two
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billion dollars in twenty twenty five, translating to earnings of
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roughly five dollars eighty five cents to five dollars and
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ninety five cents per share. The site projects even higher
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earnings in twenty twenty six, spurred by anticipated growth and
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power consumption, particularly from artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency data centers.
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The site also notes a substantial increase in AEP's five
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year capital investment plan, which grew from fifty four billion
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dollars to an estimated seventy billion dollars by July twenty
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twenty five. On August twenty nine, twenty twenty five, Kentucky
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Power announced it would seek permission from the Kentucky Public
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Service Commission to raise its base rates for residential and
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commercial customers. Since then, AEP's stock price has risen from
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one hundred ten dollars and fifteen cents per share to
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one hundred nineteen dollars and ninety six per share as
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of Monday, January sixteenth. Kentucky Power Company's rates are regulated
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at the state level, and dividends are paid by AEP.
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Both are ultimately supported by revenue generated from customers across
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AEP's eleven state service territory, including parts of Lecture and
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nineteen other counties in eastern Kentucky. Given AEPS billions of
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dollars in earnings, serious questions should be answered before the
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Public Service Commission approves any portion of the increase Kentucky
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Power is requesting from customers in one of the most
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economically stressed regions of the country. Here are a few
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questions we think should be asked question. Kentucky Power was
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granted base rate increases of fourteen point six percent in
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January twenty twenty one and five point six percent in
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January twenty twenty four, rate hikes that helped push the
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average monthly residential bill from about one hundred eighty three
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dollars to roughly two hundred eleven dollars per month. Given
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parent company AEP's large annual profits, how can the PSC
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justify approving another increase so soon? Question? If the PSC
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approves any level of rate increase, why should it exceed
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about five percent per year, which is roughly in line
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with recent national averages for residential electricity price increases. Question.
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Kentucky Power says a rate increase is needed in part
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to cover its seventy seven point nine million dollars share
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of upgrades to the Mitchell Power Plant in Moundsville, West Virginia.
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Because Kentucky Power is part owner of the plant, its
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customers are responsible for a share of those costs, even
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though the facility is located outside Kentucky. The plant was
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scheduled to close in twenty twenty eight, but the Kentucky
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PSC agreed late last month to allow continued investment. While
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West Virginia regulators are allowing the plant to burn coal
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until at least twenty forty, will continuing to rely on
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coal at the Mitchell plant benefit Eastern Kentucky coal miners
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enough to offset the added costs to Eastern Kentucky ratepayers.
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All coal burned at the Mitchell plant now comes from
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a handful of West Virginia mines. Question records show that
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since January first, twenty fourteen, Kentucky power customers, including those
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in Electric County, have already paid at least four hundred
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and eighty four million dollars toward improvements at the Mitchell plant.
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How much longer will those extra charges continue? Those are
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questions the Public Service Commission should weigh carefully before deciding
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whether families in Eastern Kentucky can afford to pay even
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more for electricity. The next story is we're barely getting by.
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Readers share struggles with high power bills. Janet Hacker of
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Electric County said her disabled son, who lives alone on
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Little Collie, saw his electric bills climb from two hundred
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seventy four dollars ninety five cents in November to four
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hundred fifty five dollars in December and five hundred nine
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dollars and sixty two cents in January, even though he
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lives on eight hundred dollars a month in disability payments.
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He's got a mother that's going to help him, Hacker said,
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but what about all these other people who don't have
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anyone to help. Hacker's concerns echo those of dozens of
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Eastern Kentucky residents who responded to The Mountain Eagle's request
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for reader input, many describing electric bills that now consume
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a large share of fixed or modest incomes as Kentucky
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Power seeks approval for another rate increase. Hacker also questioned
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why more renewable energy projects, such as solar farms on
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abandoned strip mines, have not been pursued in Eastern Kentucky,
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and called on state leaders to take a closer look
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at the role of regulators in approving rate increases. Hacker
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said she and her husband heat their home with a
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propane fireplace and still received a three hundred thirty three
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dollars electric bill this month, up from one hundred ninety
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six dollars in November. She said they have been afraid
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to install a propane heater in their son's home because
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he uses a walker and could not move quickly in
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the event of a fire. Comments were submitted in response
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to a Mountain Eagle Facebook post asking readers about their
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electric bills. Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity. Bills
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of four hundred eight hundred dollars and even higher. December's
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bill was over six hundred dollars and January's was close
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to that. Also, mine was six hundred ninety seven dollars
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for one month seven hundred eighty eight dollars in hazard.
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Our bill this month was almost seven hundred dollars. There's
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no way people can keep paying these bills and survive.
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Try one thousand, forty nine dollars for one month in
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a three bedroom, two bath house. For December my settle
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up month it was one thousand, one hundred forty nine
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dollars and forty nine cents. Last winter hours was over
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one thousand dollars for almost four months straight, not using
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electric heat, but bills still high. I heat with pro Paine.
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My bill was three hundred ninety six dollars and my
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heat pump hasn't been turned on once. We burn wood
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for heat and keep the thermostat at sixty five. December
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was three hundred seventy dollars and January is four hundred
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seventy five dollars. My primary heat source is pro pain.
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January's bill was five hundred sixty dollars in a single
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wide trailer. We supplement with kerosene and wood. Two adults
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not home much. Bill was over five hundred dollars. I
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use natural gas and still pay over three hundred dollars
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a month. Fixed income, disabled or retired. My total income
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from Social Security is eight hundred and ninety six dollars.
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My electric bill this month was two hundred and sixty
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two dollars. Were retired and on a fixed income, our
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bill went from three hundred to four hundred dollars on
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the budget plan. My brother in law's bill was five
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hundred and fifty dollars, and that's a third of his income.
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He's disabled. My mom lives alone. Her electric bill was
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over four hundred dollars and she's on a fixed income.
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I'm retired and have a part time job and still
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can't afford to live after paying my bills. Empty or
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barely used homes. I've got an empty trailer with only
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a refrigerator running and the bill was two hundred dollars.
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We were only at the house eight days during the
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billing period and the bill was two hundred and forty
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four dollars. One person, single wide trailer thermostatics sixty three
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hardly home bill was four hundred twenty four dollars. Sharp
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jumps seen monthly. Mine went from one hundred twenty five
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dollars in October to two hundred sixty seven dollars in November,
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then four hundred twenty four dollars in December. My bill
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went from two hundred thirty seven to five hundred seventy
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one dollars in one month. October was one hundred sixty two,
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November one hundred ninety eight, December three hundred seventy, and
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January is higher. Mine went up one hundred dollars and
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I was gone for two weeks. Comparisons to other utilities
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or places, we have Cumberland Valley Electric, and our bill
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for a much larger home is never over two hundred
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fifty dollars. I moved from central Kentucky, where my bill
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was one hundred and fifty dollars. Here it's almost five hundred.
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I live in Florida now, and my bill there is
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half what it was back home. In Louisville. Under LG
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and E, the average bill is around one hundred fourteen dollars.
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Here it's much higher. Choosing between their essential needs. I
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can't make ends meet. I have to let one bill
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go to pay the electric bill. People are choosing between
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eating or having power. It's either pay the bill or
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do without food and medicine. My electric bill is higher
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than my house payment. Feeling trapped, they know we have
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no other choice. Payt or the power gets cut off.
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There's no competition. We're stuck. We are seriously considered leaving
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Kentucky because of utilities and taxes. Editor's note, these comments
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reflect individual households and billing periods. Electric bills vary based
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on usage, housing conditions, and approved rates and riders, but
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the volume and consistency of responses highlight widespread concern among residents.
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Next story is Here's how County's four basketball teams doing.
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As the two thousand, twenty five twenty six high school
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basketball season heads toward postseason tournament play in late February,
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Here's a look at where the four high school teams
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in Electric County now stand. Jenkins High Boys the Jenkins
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High School Cavaliers are now ten and seven on the
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season after losses to Phelps on Monday and Buckhorn on Saturday.
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Statistics for the Cavaliers sixty four to twenty six loss
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to Phelps were not available at press time. On January seventeenth,
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the Calves were led offensively by senior Malachi Adkins in
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their sixty four to fifty six loss to Buckhorn High
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School seven and nine, as Atkins scored a team high
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eighteen points while also pulling down nine rebounds. Connor Rose
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added twelve points and matched Atkins with nine rebounds, while
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junior Hunter Wyatt chipped in eleven points on an efficient
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five of six shooting performance. Chase mc neely finished with
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nine points, including the Cavalier's lone three pointer of the night,
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and Cale Owens added six points. Jenkins shot forty eight
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percent from the field overall twenty four of fifty, but
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struggled from behind the ark, hitting just one of six
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attempts and connected on forty three point eight percent of
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its free throws. The Cavaliers totaled twenty eight rebounds as
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a team in the loss. On January thirteenth, the Cavaliers
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used a balanced offensive effort and strong work on the
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glass to earn a victory over June Buchanan two and twelve. Owens,
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a senior, led Jenkins with twenty one points, scoring efficiently
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from the field and converting all seven of his free
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throw attempts while also pulling down four rebounds. Wyatt added
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sixteen points, knocking down seven field goals and contributing five rebounds.
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Atkins finished with nineteen points, highlighted by a perfect night
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from the free throw line and a team high ten rebounds.
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Sophomore Connor Hall chipped in eight points and five rebounds,
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and freshman Benson Owens added two points. Jenkins shot forty
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three point five percent from the field overall, including thirty
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one point two percent from three point range, and connected
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on sixty six point seven percent of its free throws.
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The Cavaliers controlled the boards with thirty total rebounds and
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totaled seventy three points in the win. Jenkins High Girls.
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The Jenkins Lady Cavaliers are five and eleven on the
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season after losing their fourth straight game Monday, a seventy
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five to forty loss to Phelps. The defeat came two
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days after the Lady Caves fell to Fairview fifty six
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to thirty nine. Game statistics were not available at Mountain
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Eagle press time. The Lady Calves came up just short
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in a fifty seven to fifty four loss to June
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Buchanan on January thirteenth, spite a strong all round effort.
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Eighth grader Ella Sutherland led Jenkins with twenty points, scoring
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eight field goals and going four for six from the
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free throw line while also grabbing a team high ten rebounds.
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Junior Isabella Holbrook added ten points and six rebounds, and
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senior Harlow Bates finished with nine points, including a pair
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of three pointers. Freshman Raylan Newsom chipped in eight points
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and nine rebounds, and sophomore Alexis Hammonds scored six points.
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Jenkins total fifty four points, shot thirty five point six
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percent from the field, and converted fifty five point six
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percent of its free throws while controlling the boards with
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thirty six rebounds in the narrow defeat Leccher Central Boys.
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A sixty nine to thirty five loss to the host
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Painful Tigers on Saturday left the Letcher County Couters with
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a one loss record of nine to seven heading into
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Tuesday night's visit to six Magoffin County, a team which
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has only two wins on the season. Statistics were not
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available for Saturday's loss to Paintsville, which improved that team's
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season record to ten and seven. Meanwhile, the visiting Not
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Central Patriots outlasted Lecters Central in overtime on January thirteenth,
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pulling away late for a hard fought victory behind a
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balanced offensive effort and a strong showing on the boards.
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Knox Central's Connor Napier led all scorers with twenty two points,
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knocking down six field goals, including four three pointers, and
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going six for nine from the free throw line. Chance
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Embergy added twelve points for the Patriots, while Shane Gibson
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shipped in nine and Peyton Dials scored five. Not Central
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shot forty one point four percent from the field and
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connected on four to three pointers while converting nine of
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fifteen free throws. The Patriots controlled the glass with thirty
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four rebounds, led by by Chance Ambergie's twelve and five
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each from Jayden Hall and Peyton Dials. Letcher County Central
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was paced by Cameron Hayes, who finished with twenty one
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points and eight rebounds, while Jaden Ambergy followed closely with
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twenty points. Terry Delaney added eleven points and six rebounds,
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and Mason Boggs contributed a three pointer off the bench.
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The Cougars shot forty five point one percent from the
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floor and went seven for twelve at the free throw line,
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finishing with twenty seven total rebounds. Despite strong performances from
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Hayes and Ambergy and keeping pace through regulation, Lecher County
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Central was unable to match Not Central's execution in the
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extra period, as the Patriots closed out the overtime win.
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The Cougars were scheduled to visit windless Cordia, oh to
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fifteen on Thursday, followed by road games Saturday at Hazzard
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ten and seven and next two Tuesday at Jenkins ten
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and seven. Letcher Central Girls. The Lecher County Central Lady
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Couters improved their season record to eleven and eight after
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consecutive wins over Pulaski County on Saturday and Harlan on Friday.
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Statistics were not available for the sixty seven to sixty
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six win over the Lady Maroons or the sixty eight
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to forty seven victory over the Lady Dragons. On January thirteenth,
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the Lady Couters fell to the Not Central Lady Patriots
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forty five to thirty eight, and a game where Letcher
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Central showed balance offensively, but struggled to keep pace. Overall,
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the Lady Cougars shot thirty six of ninety from the field,
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including fourteen may three pointers, and connected on all nine
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free throw attempts. Mara Dixon and eighth grader led Letcher
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Central with eleven points, hitting four of six shots from
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the field and going a perfect four for four at
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the free throw live Ali bay He added eight points,
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while Molly Caudlet, Scarlet Stamper, and Dailey Baker contributed six,
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five and four points respectively. Letcher Central made three of
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fourteen attempts from beyond the arc and posted a team
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field goal percentage of twenty six percent. On the boards,
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the Lady Cougars collected twenty four rebounds, led by Stamper
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with five and Baker with four. Despite strong free throw
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shooting and solid contributions across the roster, Letcher Central was
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unable to overcome the overall scoring edge of Not Central
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Lady Patriots, resulting in the forty five to thirty eight loss.
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The next story is Letcher Fiscal Court approves inmate phone
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provider change, adopts new jail policies. Electrifiscal Court has approved
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a request by jailer Brian Sloan to change the provider
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of inmate telephone and entertainment services. Slung said the jail
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is currently paying one thousand dollars per month to secure
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us for tablet computers that inmates use to make phone calls.
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He asked the court to switch to Paytel Communications, which
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provides inmate phone services to jails across the country. He
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said the new service will cost the county nothing. According
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to Paytel's website, the tablets connect to the jail's phone
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monitoring system and use a prepaid calling system that allows
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inmates and their families to pay in advance for audio
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or video calls. The system also includes incentive based education
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and entertainment, a law library, faith based and inspirational content,
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and programs designed to help inmates re enter society after release.
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Sloane said the Paytel system allows inmates to earn points
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by taking educational classes and use those points to watch
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free movies. The court voted unanimously to switch to Paytel.
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Sloan also asked the court or to approve two additional
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jail policies. He said a policy regarding inmate medical copays
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and commissary deposits has been in practice since Don McCall
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was jailer, but was never formally adopted. The new policy
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puts existing practices into writing. Sloane said the jail charges
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inmates a twenty five dollars copay for doctor visits, but
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some inmates had been arranging for family members to send
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money to their cellmates, allowing them to avoid paying the
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copays owed to the jail. To address the issue, Sloan
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said inmates will now be charged half of their copey upfront,
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with the remaining balance available for them to spend while incarcerated.
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If anybody gets released and they have money, we'll take
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that for the copays, he said. The court also unanimously
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approved a social media policy requested by Sloan to prevent
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employees from arguing with members of the public online. He
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said some employees become upset about comments made about them
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on social media and have engaged in heated arguments in
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comments sections. While Sloan said he believes employees should be
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able to defend themselves, identifying themselves as jail employees while
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arguing online creates a big headache and the next story
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is monument will celebrate Pound's mining history. The town of Pound, Virginia,
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located just off US Route twenty three in Wise County
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and only a few miles from the Lectra County line,
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is preparing to celebrate its deep Appalachian labor history with
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a new public monument in its historic downtown. For the
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past two years, Pound residents and town leaders have been
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working to revitalize the community through projects aimed at strengthening
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flood and landslide resilience and addressing long neglected buildings. Among
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those efforts, an upcoming labour focused monument stands out as
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a tribute to the town's coal mining routes and the
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people who built the community. In a report in The
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Appalachian Voice, Rance Garrison writes that funding for the monument
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was awarded last year through Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, an
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initiative based at Virginia Tech and supported by the Mellon Foundation.
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The program focuses on elevating stories of working people and
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communities whose histories have often been overlooked or erased. From
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the beginning, Pound residents played a central role in shaping
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the project. Through a series of listening sessions. Community members
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shared photographs, memories, and personal stories with the two artists
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commissioned to design the monument Dana Joe Cooley of Nashville
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and Johnny Hagerman, a Tazewell County artist who teach his
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brick sculpture at Southwest Virginia Community College in Cedar Bluff Town.
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Leaders hope the monument and the Pocket Park will provide
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a much needed gathering place for festivals, concerts, farmers markets,
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and food truck events, boosting downtown activity and the local economy.
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Construction and installation work is expected to begin in February,
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with a public unveiling planned for later this spring. Asked
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what she hopes the monument brings to the community, Cooley
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offered a simple answer. Joy. This concludes the reading of
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the Mountain Eagle. Your reader has been built on Arsdale.
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Now please stay tuned for continued programming on behalf of
27:34
everyone here at Radio I. Thank you for listening, and
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have a good day.