How does Kentucky's charging tax work?

Kentucky levies 3.2 cents per kWh on public charging above 20 kW, in force since 2024 and remitted monthly by the station operator. At default volumes it runs on the order of $36,500 a year, and the model carries it from year one. The rate is indexed and can move slightly within a statutory band.

How stable are the modeled Kentucky rates?

Very — a rate-case settlement froze LG&E's and KU's base rates through August 2028. Only the fuel and rider components move between refreshes. A pending merger case between the two utilities could eventually converge the two rate books, which the library tracks as a structural watch.

ForgeAsset / Supercharger ROI / Kentucky

Tesla Supercharger ROI in Kentucky

Kentucky adds cost on two fronts a charging site feels directly: a 3.2-cent-per-kWh tax on public charging that has been in force since 2024, and a local net-profits tax on the business itself — 2.2% in Louisville, 2.75% in Lexington. The utility rates are LG&E's and KU's time-of-day schedules, cheap flat energy against a heavy per-kilovolt-ampere demand charge assembled from three nested time windows. A rate-case settlement froze base rates through August 2028, making the underlying rates unusually stable.

Model a Kentucky site

What makes Kentucky economics distinct

A 3.2¢/kWh charging tax and a local profits tax

Kentucky's excise on public charging above 20 kW has been in force since 2024 and runs on the order of $36,500 a year at default volumes — carried from year one. On top of it, local occupational taxes reach the business's net profits: 2.2% in Louisville Metro (the canonical row's metro) and 2.75% in Lexington. The model carries the local net-profits tax as its state income-tax line, approximated on positive annual operating cash.

A nested-window demand charge on kilovolt-amperes

LG&E's TODS rate bills demand at about $23.87 per kilovolt-ampere-month, assembled from three strictly nested time windows — a base all-hours component, an intermediate daytime window, and a narrow peak window — each billed at its own rate and summed. Because a charging site draws its hardware peak inside every window, the model folds them at the summed rate. Billing on kilovolt-amperes rather than kilowatts raises the charge slightly at low power factor, disclosed rather than folded.

Cheap energy, base rates frozen to 2028

Both books price energy near 4 to 4.5 cents flat, folding the fuel and post-order riders and Kentucky's 6% electricity sales tax. A rate-case settlement froze base rates through August 2028, so the underlying rates are unusually stable — only the fuel and rider components move between refreshes. KU's two revenue riders are filed but not yet billing, a small upside when they post.

Two sibling books, one possible merger

LG&E serves Louisville and KU serves Lexington under common ownership, and the two rate books mirror each other. A pending merger case would eventually fold KU into LG&E's certified territory and converge the two books; the two-row structure is correct today, and the case decides its lifespan.

Utilities and tariffs modeled in Kentucky

Utility & tariff	Energy	Demand
LG&E Rate TODS	4.5¢/kWh flat	$23.87/kW of monthly peak
KU Rate TODS	4.1¢/kWh flat	$21.02/kW of monthly peak

Rates are digit-verified against each utility's own filed sheets and update within two weeks of any revision. Full derivations are on the methodology page.

Kentucky tax profile

Sales tax on hardware: 6%
Business personal property tax: 1.92% of equipment value (example rate)
Clean-fuels credit: no program
Per-kWh charging excise: 3.2¢/kWh (in force)

Kentucky tax defaults applied: no clean-fuels credit program exists in Kentucky (the LCFS revenue line is $0). Kentucky's 3.2¢/kWh tax on public charging above 20 kW has been in force since 2024 and is included from year one — on the order of $36,500 per year at default volumes. Louisville's 2.2% local net-profits tax on the business is carried as the state income-tax line, approximated on positive annual operating cash (Lexington runs 2.75%; the field is editable). LLC costs use the $175 minimum entity tax plus the $15 report. Sales tax uses Kentucky's 6% on hardware, with installation labor on affixed equipment untaxed; the electricity sales tax is already inside the modeled utility rate. Business personal property runs about 1.92% of value per year in Louisville. Base utility rates are frozen through August 2028.

Kentucky programs and incentives

LG&E/KU commercial charging programs

Utility make-ready and rebate offerings for commercial charging vary by program cycle; a specific award enters the model through the grant inputs.

NEVI (federal, KYTC-administered)

Federal corridor DC fast-charging funding along I-64, I-65, I-71, and I-75, administered in award rounds.

Kentucky charging market

Kentucky carries roughly 20 Supercharger stations along I-64, I-65, and I-75. LG&E serves the Louisville metro and KU serves Lexington and much of central and eastern Kentucky. Frankfort, Owensboro, and several other cities run municipal utilities the model does not cover; addresses there see a named-utility notice rather than a wrong auto-selection.

Kentucky Supercharger ROI — questions

How does Kentucky's charging tax work?: Kentucky levies 3.2 cents per kWh on public charging above 20 kW, in force since 2024 and remitted monthly by the station operator. At default volumes it runs on the order of $36,500 a year, and the model carries it from year one. The rate is indexed and can move slightly within a statutory band.
Does Kentucky tax the charging business's profits?: Local governments do: Louisville Metro at 2.2% and Lexington at 2.75% on net profits earned inside the jurisdiction. The model carries the local net-profits tax as its state income-tax line, approximated on positive annual operating cash. The state's own income tax is an owner-level item the engine does not model.
How stable are the modeled Kentucky rates?: Very — a rate-case settlement froze LG&E's and KU's base rates through August 2028. Only the fuel and rider components move between refreshes. A pending merger case between the two utilities could eventually converge the two rate books, which the library tracks as a structural watch.

Sources

Model a Tesla V4 Supercharger site in Kentucky — payback, NPV, IRR, and a 15-year cash flow from your own inputs.

Run a Kentucky scenario

Other states: California, North Carolina, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Montana, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Washington, Ohio, Utah, New Hampshire. Coverage spans thirty-three states in total — see the full list.

ForgeAsset is software, not investment, tax, or legal advice — outputs are model estimates from your inputs, not guarantees. Rates and programs current as of research; verify current terms with each source before committing capital.