What happens when your water company calls it quits?

Andrew Melnykovych, Kentucky Public Service Commission


PSC Sets Hearing on Proposal to Close Lovelaceville Water

Public comments will be taken in Paducah on Sept. 17;

information meeting in Lovelaceville on Sept. 16


FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2014) - The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold a hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 17, to consider the proposed discontinuation of service by Lovelaceville Water Co.

Lovelaceville Water, which serves about 40 or 50 customers in northeast Ballard County, in March asked the PSC for approval to abandon the system. Citing the deteriorating physical and financial condition of the water system, the company said it was no longer feasible to continue operations. Efforts to find another operator for the utility have been unsuccessful, the company said.

The evidentiary hearing on the matter will begin at 10 a.m. EDT (9 a.m. CDT) at the PSC office, 211 Sower Boulevard in Frankfort. Public comments will be taken prior to the formal portion of the hearing.

In order to allow Lovelaceville customers to participate without having to travel to Frankfort, the PSC is making the hearing available via videoconference in Paducah. The location is:

Kentucky Department of Transportation District One Office

5501 Kentucky Dam Road (US Highway 62), Paducah

The videoconference, which will begin at 9 a.m. CDT, will allow those attending in Paducah to make public comments directly to members of the PSC and to observe the subsequent proceedings in the case. The hearing also may be viewed live on the PSC website, psc.ky.gov.

In addition to the hearing, the PSC also will conduct an informational meeting in Lovelaceville on the evening of Sept. 16. It will include an update on the case and an explanation of the hearing process.

The informational meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. CDT and will be held in the Lovelaceville United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 143 N. Broadway in Lovelaceville.

Lovelaceville Water Co. is the only party to the case.

Its abandonment request and other documents in the case are available on the PSC website, psc.ky.gov. The case number is 2014-00136.

The PSC is an independent agency attached for administrative purposes to the Energy and Environment Cabinet. It regulates more than 1,500 gas, water, sewer, electric and telecommunication utilities operating in Kentucky and has approximately 85 employees.