Pikeville to expand broadband with $75,000 grant from Ky. Power
PIKEVILLE, Ky., June 1, 2016 – The City of Pikeville on Wednesday received a $75,000 economic development grant from Kentucky Power to expand broadband citywide.
“We at Kentucky Power take great pride in collaborating with local, regional and state organizations to support and promote economic growth in the communities we serve in eastern Kentucky,” said Greg Pauley, Kentucky Power president and chief operating office. “This grant is one way we are doing what we can to be a partner for progress in the communities we serve.”
City officials plan to match the $75,000 from Kentucky Power with $75,000 in city funds for a total investment of $150,000. The money will be used for the engineering design of the City Broadband Project to provide residents and businesses with 1 gigabite high speed internet service. About 8,000 residents and businesses, such as the University of Pikeville, Big Sandy Community and Technical College, Pikeville Medical Center, Pikeville Independent Schools and the Pike County Public Library, stand to benefit from the fiber project.
In their application, city officials said the grant “would enable the City of Pikeville and collaborators to design the most effective and efficient layout of the broadband fiber and allow business and the community to take advantage of this economic-boosting utility.”
Funded through the Kentucky Economic Development Surcharge, the Kentucky Power Economic Growth Grant (KPEGG) program was approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission in 2015. For every 15 cents collected monthly from Kentucky Power 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.
“The KPEGG grant is awarded on a competitive basis and is meant to assist with the funding of economic development projects that promote the creation and retention of jobs in eastern Kentucky,” said Brad Hall, Kentucky Power’s external affairs manager for economic development. “The funds are meant to foster development in our area.”
Kentucky Power, with headquarters in Frankfort, Ky., provides service to nearly 170,000 customers in all or part of 20 eastern Kentucky counties. It is a unit of the American Electric Power system, one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S., with 5.4 million customers in 11 states.
