Kentucky Utilities

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Kentucky Utilities (KU) is based in Lexington, KY and provides electricity to 77 counties in Kentucky and 5 counties in Virginia (under the name Old Dominion Power.)^[1].

[edit] History

Kentucky Utilities was formed in 1912 to serve five areas of Kentucky.^[1] In 1926, KU acquired Old Dominion Power. Since 1998, KU has been acquired successively by Louisville Gas & Electric (1998), British utility company Powergen (2000), and German utility company E.ON (2003).

The use of the plural Utilities refers to the company's early sales mix of electricity and other utilities, including ice.

Herrington Lake, near Burgin, KY was built by Kentucky Utilities in 1926 by constructing Dix Dam, which contained hydro-electric generators. The dam was the largest earth-filled dam in the world at the time, and considered to be a major engineering feat. The generating station is now mainly used for flood control under control of the Corps of Engineers. The company's main dispatch and communication center is located on the site.