The Commission Board

The Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC) is governed by an eighteen-member board drawn from across Kentucky’s energy economy and the customers it serves. The statute sets the seats:

• Investor-owned utility
• Generation and transmission cooperative
• Coal prodcuers
• Oil and gas producers
• Coal transportation
• Natural gas transportation and distribution
• Fossil fuel purchasing and sales
• Nuclear generation industry
• Nuclear fuel supply chain
• Commercial and industrial electricity consumers
• Kentucky economic interests
• Renewable electricity producers
• Utility finance
• Residential electricity consumers
• Secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet
• Secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development

One member of the House and member of the Senate serve as ex officio nonvoting members. Most members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, several on the nomination of Kentucky trade associations. No more than two members may live outside the Commonwealth.

The Executive Committee

Five members lead the board: the chair and vice chair, two members appointed by the Attorney General and confirmed by the Senate, and one member elected by the board from its own membership. The Attorney General’s two appointees must hold qualifications at the level required to serve as a chief executive or director of a coal production company and of an electric utility. No Executive Committee member may have a current employment, contractual, or financial relationship with a utility beyond being a retail customer.

The Executive Committee hires the Executive Director, adopts the Commission’s rules of procedure, and issues EPIC’s findings on proposed plant retirements. Ashli Watts serves as Chair and Jeffrey Brock as Vice Chair.

The Executive Director

Under the statute, the Executive Director “shall have full authority to act on behalf of the commission in all matters,” and the board and Executive Committee “shall serve in an advisory capacity to the executive director.” The Executive Director hires staff, retains contractors, serves as the Commission’s chief purchasing officer, and administers the EPIC fund. Eric L. King was selected by the Executive Committee and unanimously confirmed by the Kentucky Senate in April 2026.

Staff

EPIC’s staff carries out the agency’s regulatory and economic analysis, technical work, and daily operations.

Relationship to the University of Kentucky

EPIC is administratively attached to the University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research only for limited services it requests, such as accounting, payroll, purchasing assistance, and human resources administration. Otherwise, the statute makes EPIC independent of the University. EPIC’s work, judgments, and publications are its own.