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(LOUISVILLE, KY) -- LG&E and KU Energy won national supply-chain recognition with a prestigious industry award.

The company received the Supplier Diversity Excellence Award at the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) Supplier Diversity conference in Charlotte, NC.

For more than 30 years, EEI has recognized electric utility companies with one of the highest supplier diversity honors in the energy business. It is for demonstrated leadership and commitment in developing purchasing relationships with minority- and women-owned businesses.

Chief Administrative Officer Brad Rives accepted the award, noting that a commitment to supplier diversity is a critical business initiative and a key to sustaining LG&E and KU’s long-term success. “Our supplier diversity efforts reach out to diverse businesses while strengthening the communities we serve,” he said.  “Last year alone, LG&E and KU worked with 140 diverse businesses with a total spend of approximately $133 million.”
  
According to Manager of Supplier Diversity, Stephanie Pryor, the award is particularly gratifying because it demonstrates the company is an industry leader with its commitment to supplier diversity. “We continually look for innovative ways to build relationships with new, diverse vendors, and we promote those relationships to our larger community. This EEI recognition will help us expand our supplier diversity efforts and promote them to a national audience,” she said.

EEI noted the company’s efforts to promote diverse businesses, both internally and externally, and its progressive improvement in attracting, developing and retaining diverse suppliers for more than 10 years.

EEI evaluated businesses applying for the award on several criteria, including their designated supplier diversity staff; written corporate policy; measurable goals and objectives; outreach to internal and external target groups; commitment to coaching, mentoring and training diverse suppliers; and innovation in employee engagement with supplier diversity.

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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 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 321,000 natural gas and 397,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 543,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.