Kentucky Utilities is based in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 and provides electricity to 77 counties in Kentucky. KU also serves five counties in Virginia under the name Old Dominion Power. It is owned by LG&E and KU Energy, LLC, which, in turn, is owned by PPL Corporation

PPL (utility)

PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...

.

History

Kentucky Utilities was formed in 1912 to serve five areas of Kentucky. In 1926, KU acquired Old Dominion Power. KU was acquired by Louisville Gas & Electric

Louisville Gas & Electric

Louisville Gas & Electric is a utilities company based in Louisville, Kentucky. A subsidiary of PPL Corporation through the LG&E and KU Energy subsidiary, LG&E serves over 350,000 electric and over 300,000 natural gas customers, covers an area of 700 square miles , and has a total regulated...

 in 1998, forming LG&E Energy; this combination was then acquired by British utility company Powergen in 2000, and ultimately Powergen was bought by German utility company E.ON

E.ON

E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....

 in 2003. E.ON renamed LG&E Energy as E.ON U.S. In 2010, E.ON U.S. was bought by PPL Corporation, who changed the name of the company to LG&E and KU Energy.

The use of the plural Utilities refers to the company's early sales mix of electricity and other utilities, including ice, which in its early days of mass-production, was made in some areas by electric utilities.

KU's facilities include Herrington Lake

Herrington Lake

Herrington Lake is a artificial lake located in Mercer, Garrard and Boyle counties in Kentucky, USA. The lake was created by Kentucky Utilities' damming of the Dix River, a tributary of the Kentucky River, in 1925 to generate hydroelectric power. With a maximum depth of , Herrington Lake is the...

, near Burgin, Kentucky

Burgin, Kentucky

Burgin is a city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 874 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Burgin is located at...

. It was formed in 1926 by constructing Dix Dam

Dix Dam

The Dix Dam is a dam on the Dix River located between Mercer and Garrard County, Kentucky. It was constructed to generate hydroelectricity and prevent flooding of the Kentucky River but is better known for creating Herrington Lake.-History:...

, which contained hydro-electric generators. The company's distribution dispatch is located in Lexington.

Acquisition by PPL Corporation

PPL and E.ON announced on April 28, 2010 a definitive agreement under which PPL will acquire E.ON US, the parent company of KU and Louisville Gas & Electric

Louisville Gas & Electric

Louisville Gas & Electric is a utilities company based in Louisville, Kentucky. A subsidiary of PPL Corporation through the LG&E and KU Energy subsidiary, LG&E serves over 350,000 electric and over 300,000 natural gas customers, covers an area of 700 square miles , and has a total regulated...

, for $7.625 billion. The sale was closed on November 1, 2010.