# Rising energy costs strain Kentucky families as utility bill protection stalls  
**Published:** 2026-04-13T00:49:14.598Z  
**Source:** [Public News Service - Kentucky](https://app.publicnewsservice.org/story/high-gas-prices-electricity-costs-hurting-kentuckians/e548945c-7cac-44e3-8c3b-68116ffa52c5)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/rising-energy-costs-strain-kentucky-families-as-utility-bill-protection-stalls

Soaring electricity and gas prices are stretching household budgets across Kentucky, threatening vulnerable families with utility shutoffs as a key legislative protection effort stalls in committee, according to a [Public News Service report](https://app.publicnewsservice.org/story/high-gas-prices-electricity-costs-hurting-kentuckians/e548945c-7cac-44e3-8c3b-68116ffa52c5).

[Electricity costs in Kentucky increased by nearly 12% last year](https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2026/3/new-data-families-paid-even-more-for-electricity-under-trump-than-previously-projected), according to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. Meanwhile, [gas prices have surged more than 40% since the beginning of 2026](https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/war-inflation), potentially driving up costs for other consumer goods, according to NerdWallet research.

[Cara Cooper, coordinator for Kentuckians for Energy Democracy](https://k4ed.org/), said the combination creates a crisis for rural families already struggling financially. She expects more households to face utility disconnections as summer heat arrives and energy demand peaks.

"As the electric rates go up and the cost of living continues to go up, more and more people will be put into a situation where they're facing disconnections as we move into the summer and the extreme heat," Cooper said.

Advocates are pushing the legislature to pass [House Bill 377, which would establish disconnection protections during extreme weather](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/02/02/kentucky-lawmakers-renew-push-to-establish-statewide-residential-utility-disconnection-protections/). [The bill would prevent gas and electric utilities from disconnecting service when temperatures are forecast at 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or 95 degrees or higher, over 72-hour periods](https://kyyouth.org/bill-tracker/).

The legislation would align Kentucky with more than 40 other states that already have such protections. [Nearly 269,000 electric disconnections occurred in Kentucky in fiscal year 2025—an 87% increase from the prior year](https://chaseday.com/kentucky-bill-to-ban-extreme-weather-power-outages-loses-momentum/), according to data from the Appalachian Citizens Law Center.

However, the bill stalled in committee during the 2026 legislative session. "Once again, disconnection protections are being blocked by committee leadership," Cooper said. [Republican Rep. Susan Witten of Louisville has championed the bill, which is assigned to the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/02/02/kentucky-lawmakers-renew-push-to-establish-statewide-residential-utility-disconnection-protections/).

Nationally, gas prices are averaging around $3.72 per gallon this month, up from $2.93 a month ago, according to AAA. A Pew Research Center survey found nearly 70% of Americans express concern about higher gas prices, driven in part by tensions with Iran.

## Sources

- [Public News Service - Kentucky](https://app.publicnewsservice.org/story/high-gas-prices-electricity-costs-hurting-kentuckians/e548945c-7cac-44e3-8c3b-68116ffa52c5)
- [Congressional Joint Economic Committee - Electricity costs data](https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2026/3/new-data-families-paid-even-more-for-electricity-under-trump-than-previously-projected)
- [NerdWallet - Gas prices report](https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/war-inflation)
- [Kentucky Lantern - Kentucky lawmakers renew push for utility disconnection protections](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/02/02/kentucky-lawmakers-renew-push-to-establish-statewide-residential-utility-disconnection-protections/)
- [Kentucky Youth Advocates Bill Tracker - HB 377 details](https://kyyouth.org/bill-tracker/)
- [ChaseDay - Kentucky Bill to Ban Extreme Weather Power Outages](https://chaseday.com/kentucky-bill-to-ban-extreme-weather-power-outages-loses-momentum/)
- [Kentuckians for Energy Democracy](https://k4ed.org/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Public News Service - Kentucky, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://app.publicnewsservice.org/story/high-gas-prices-electricity-costs-hurting-kentuckians/e548945c-7cac-44e3-8c3b-68116ffa52c5.