{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-96.520","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 96.520","heading":"City of the home rule class or urban -county government may acquire and","body":"operate electric light, heat, and power plants -- Regulation of provision of\ntelecommunications services or municipal telephone service -- Interconnection\nagreements with utilities or utility affiliates -- Bonds.\n(1) Any city of the home rule class or urban -county government may purchase,\nestablish, erect, maintain, and operate electric light, heat, and power plants, with\nextensions and necessary appurtenances, within or without th e corporate limits of\nthe city or the urban -county government, for the purpose of supplying the city or\nurban-county government and its inhabitants with electric light, heat, power, and\ntelecommunications. Any city -owned or urban -county government -owned ut ility\ncreated under this section that provides telecommunications services shall be\nregulated as to that service by KRS Chapter 278. Any city -owned or urban -county\ngovernment-owned utility created under this section that provides municipal\ntelephone service shall be regulated as to that service by KRS Chapter 278. For the\npurpose of providing electric light, heat, power, and telephone services, a city of the\nhome rule class or urban -county government may enter into and fulfill the terms of\nan interconnection agreement with any electric or combination electric or gas utility\nwhose rates and service are regulated by the Public Service Commission of\nKentucky (or, if not so regulated, operating and having customers only outside of\nKentucky), or an affiliate enti rely owned by or under complete common ownership\nwith an electric or combination electric and gas utility whose rates and service are\nregulated by the Public Service Commission of Kentucky. Any city of the home rule\nclass or urban-county government may establish, erect, maintain, and operate plants,\nindividually or jointly with any of these utilities or utility affiliate. In the case of any\njoint action, a city or urban -county government and utility or utility affiliate may\nprovide by contract for their res pective responsibilities, for operation and\nmaintenance and for the allocation of expenses, revenues, and power. If in the\naccomplishment of this purpose a city or urban -county government at any time has\ncapacity or energy surplus to the immediate needs of  the city or urban -county\ngovernment and its inhabitants, the surplus, if not disposed of for consumption\noutside this state, may be disposed of to an electric or combination electric and gas\nutility whose rates and service are regulated by the Public Serv ice Commission of\nKentucky, to an affiliate entirely owned by or under complete common ownership\nwith such a utility, or to a city -owned or urban -county government-owned utility\nestablished pursuant to KRS Chapter 96.\n(2) The city or urban -county governmen t shall proceed in the same manner and be\ngoverned by the same conditions as are set forth in KRS 96.360 to 96.510 for the\nacquisition and operation of a water system, with the following exceptions:\n(a) A petition calling for an election on the proposition  of purchasing an existing\nplant shall be signed by at least two hundred (200) qualified voters of the city\nor urban-county government, rather than by twenty -five percent (25%) of the\nqualified voters of the city or urban -county government who voted at the  last\npreceding regular election.\n(b) Notwithstanding any other laws, bonds may be issued bearing interest at a rate\nor rates and may be sold on a basis to yield interest at a rate or rates as may be\ndetermined upon the sale of the bonds.\n(c) Bonds of an i ssue, or bonds of two (2) or more issues consolidated for the\npurposes of sale, which equal or exceed $10,000,000 in the aggregate\nprincipal amount may be sold at public or private sale without compliance\nwith KRS 424.360.\n(3) This section constitutes a me thod for the acquisition of an electric light, heat, and\npower plant by any city of the home rule class or urban -county government in\naddition or as an alternate to any other method authorized by statute, provided that\nthe city or urban -county government w as operating an electric plant on June 1,\n1942, and has not elected to operate under KRS 96.550 to 96.900. No proceedings\nshall be required for the acquisition of any electric light, heat, or power plant or the\nissuance of bonds under this section except t he proceedings required by KRS\n96.360 to 96.510.","path":["KRS Chapter 96"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=43755","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:58Z","sha256":"b3398764f412bb1dc4d9d8a9fcea0bb92f81bad9333d63f12046003398256e45","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-96.510","next":"us-ky/krs-96.530"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}