The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) opened a case providing an opportunity for stakeholders in the Commonwealth to discuss concerns and investigate potential areas of opportunity for developing nuclear energy in the state.
The Commission has made all regulated electricity generating utilities party to the case to better facilitate the investigation and invites other interested groups to participate either as intervenors to the case or by filing comments or testifying at any of the upcoming events.
The case is being opened as part of the PSC’s compliance with 2024 Senate Joint Resolution 140, in which the Kentucky General Assembly directed the Public Service Commission to make all staffing, organizational, and administrative preparations necessary to be ready to discharge its regulatory duties relating to applications for the siting and construction of nuclear energy facilities in the Commonwealth.
To meet this directive, the PSC plans to assemble all regulated electric generating utilities as well as all other interested parties to identify and discuss pertinent issues involving the construction, operation, and funding of potential nuclear electric generating facilities.
“As our nation struggles to keep up with rising demand for electricity, nuclear energy is increasingly seen as a reliable, dispatchable, clean energy source, and as such, is experiencing a resurgence in the United States,” said Kentucky Public Service Commission Chair Angie Hatton. “Recent technological advances have made nuclear energy potentially more affordable and attainable. However, the technology is still very expensive and we want to make sure we examine all angles of this potential power source, including its impact on ratepayers, electric grid reliability, our environment, economic development and our workforce in Kentucky as we explore our options.”
As an initial step, the Commission will hold an informal conference, which may be attended personally or virtually. The Commission requests that interested parties file a short list of relevant topics to address during the informal conference. All initial topics and comments must be filed with the PSC on or before July 11. The Commission also anticipates holding a more formal, multi-day technical conference discussing the future of implementing nuclear generation in Kentucky to be tentatively held in early 2026.
No administrative proceeding or investigation would be complete, said the PSC, without the voices of Kentuckians throughout the Commonwealth. The potential impact of nuclear generation and storage on any given community could be significant. The Commission will be holding public meetings throughout the state in the near future to listen to our citizens ideas and concerns regarding nuclear generation. The dates, times, and locations for these public comment hearings will be set by separate Order.
Monday’s order and other records in the case are available on the PSC website, psc.ky.gov. The case number 2025-00186.
The PSC is an independent agency attached for administrative purposes to the Energy and Environment Cabinet. It regulates more than 1,100 gas, water, sewer, electric and telecommunication utilities operating in Kentucky and has approximately 90 employees.
Kentucky Public Service Commission