Company recognized among an elite group for economic growth
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — International economic development publication Site Selection has once again named LG&E and KU among the top 20 utilities in the United States for corporate facility investment and job creation in 2022. The evaluation included a field of approximately 3,300 electric utilities across the country.
Site Selection recognizes top utilities based on project investments and job creation in the utilities’ territories during the previous calendar year and calculates the projects’ jobs and capital investment numbers on a cumulative and per-capita basis.
LG&E and KU supported 97 corporate projects in 2022, helping Kentucky achieve the second-highest year for new investment announcements in state history. Investments were made in a broad range of industries, including manufacturing (notably EV-battery production), health care, logistics/distribution, metals, agri-tech, food/beverage production and bourbon distilling.
“Empowering economic vitality and quality of life across our service territories, and Kentucky as a whole, is the driving force behind our economic development efforts and we’re honored by to be recognized by Site Selection as a Top 20 utility once again,” said John Bevington, director, Business and Economic Development. “Nearly every area of our business supports economic development efforts throughout Kentucky. Our team possesses a competitive spirit and is committed to a best-in-class customer experience. Those critical elements, along with our Opportunity Kentucky suite of programs and tools, are among the keys to our success.”
LG&E and KU created the Opportunity Kentucky grant program to help communities access funding from the state for site development, through the Kentucky Product Development Initiative, and to help communities close deals. The grant is designed to mitigate site inventory challenges with strategic investments to enhance quantity and quality of product. The goal is to address a lack of capital in the market and to encourage collaboration among Kentucky economic developers and stakeholders. In 2022, LG&E and KU’s grant program approved a total of $450,000 to help communities proactively address land and building inventory shortages.
In addition, the Opportunity Kentucky Bill Credit is offered to industrial customers to encourage job creation and capital investment. It provides a five-year incentive on the customer’s power bill. In 2022, the Opportunity Kentucky Bill Credit assisted six companies with $3.2 million in credits.
For more details, check out the Site Selection article.
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Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve more than 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 334,000 natural gas and 433,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 569,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.
