PRESTONSBURG, Ky., May 10, 2017 – One East Kentucky, a nine-county regional economic development organization charged with recruiting Industry and Investment to eastern Kentucky, on Wednesday received a $50,000 grant from Kentucky Power.
The award is part of the Kentucky Power Economic Development Growth Grants (K-PEGG) program and is the third installment in a 5-year, $250,000 commitment to bring jobs to the region, including Floyd, Knott, Johnson, Lawrence, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Perry and Pike counties.
The K-PEGG is funded through the Kentucky Economic Development Surcharge approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission in 2015. For every 15 cents collected monthly from customers, company stockholders match the customer contributions dollar for dollar to generate $600,000 annually for investment at the local and regional levels. The program is available in all 20 counties served by Kentucky Power. Additional information on the grant is posted on the Kentucky Power website at https://kentuckypower.com/info/community/economic/
“Kentucky Power takes great pride in working with local, regional and state organizations to promote stronger economies and economic growth in the communities we serve in eastern Kentucky,” said Matt Satterwhite, Kentucky Power president and chief operating office. “We are doing what we can to assist in the development of our region and in adding good paying jobs.”
All grant applications were reviewed by a six-member committee comprised of four Kentucky Power employees and two outside, economic development professionals from the Kentucky Association of Economic Development and Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet.
“It is always difficult for the committee to finalize and make its recommendations, but in the end, the recipients are the ones judged to have the best, or perhaps most immediate, impact on area development,” said Brad Hall, external affairs manager for Kentucky Power. “We encourage those with promising economic development projects to submit applications for consideration.”
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Kentucky Power, with headquarters in Ashland, Ky., provides service to about 168,000 customers in all or part of 20 eastern Kentucky counties. It is an operating company in the AEP system, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system. AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
