Kentucky Public Service Commission for Martin County Water District adjustment rate hike

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WSAZ) - A new rate hike is up for consideration in front of Kentucky’s Public Service Commission that could raise one county’s water bills again.

In July of 2021, the PSC approved an emergency rate hike that raised customer’s bills by about six dollars for Martin County.

If approved by the PSC, the 11.68% emergency rate hike will go into effect permanently.

According to PSC records, the previous emergency rate hike granted in July was the second in three years. The other was in 2018 when a 26.8% emergency rate hike increase was granted by the PSC.

During the hearing, Craig Miller, the Division Manager for Alliance Water Resources, said outdated infrastructure is to blame.

“When someone can’t afford to pay their bill, why should we be charging them for water usage that they aren’t using?”

“Our crews fixed 15 leaks in a week which is unbelievable,” Miller said.

To make improvements, the company needs their customers to foot their bill.

Two major outages left families without water for weeks since the emergency hearing in May. Martin Water County Water District said one took place in the Meathouse area and another off Route 645.

A formal decision is expected to happen within the coming weeks.

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