News Releases

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — As a result of this week’s "polar vortex," the commonwealth faced some of the coldest temperatures on record, leading to record-breaking energy usage across the LG&E and KU service territories. As a precaution while temperatures remained extreme, the utilities requested customers take simple steps to use energy wisely and voluntarily conserve energy. Now, with the extreme conditions coming to an end, the request is over.

While the LG&E and KU system operated as designed — withstanding the extreme conditions and successfully meeting energy needs — customers’ voluntary conservation efforts helped ease the stress on the utilities’ system.

Asking customers to voluntarily reduce their energy consumption was a precautionary measure. While employees worked around the clock to meet customers’ needs, the utilities want to thank customers for their help while weathering these extreme temperatures.

On Monday, LG&E and KU set five new peak energy demand records, calling on the need for voluntary conservation from customers. Even with customers’ voluntary conservation efforts, Jan. 6-7, KU continued to set a new all-time peak record Jan. 7 — surpassing the record set the previous day, which itself had surpassed the record set in 2009.

The following LG&E and KU energy system records were set this week:

• LG&E and KU combined electric systems — all-time winter peak
• LG&E electric system — all-time winter electric peak and January electric peak
• LG&E natural gas system — all-time gas system record during 24-hour period
• KU electric system — all-time system peak

What is a peak energy load?

In the energy industry, the energy "load" is the amount of energy a system is using at any given time. During the year, the amount of energy needed — or the "energy demand" — fluctuates, depending on factors like how much energy customers are using, the weather conditions and the time of day. When demand for electricity is at its highest, that's called a "peak" period.

Visit the LG&E and KU website for additional winter conservation tips and information concerning energy efficiency programs.



Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve a total of 1.2 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 318,000 natural gas and 393,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 539,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at lge-ku.com and pplweb.com.