LOUISVILLE, KY. (April 25, 2005) - Arbor Day will be celebrated across the country on April 29th, and many people will plant trees to commemorate the event. LG&E and KU remind customers that the celebration is a good time to remember you should plant The Right Tree in The Right Place.

"One of the major causes of power outages is limbs falling on lines, many of them wind-blown during storms," said Senior Vice President for Energy Delivery Chris Hermann. "Planting the right tree in the proper location at the beginning, will help control branches getting in to our electric lines and help ensure reliable service."

Before planting, visualize your tree or shrub at maturity...10 or 15 years from now. How tall will it be? How wide will the spread of the branches be?

Some guidelines for good tree-planting locations include:

• Don't plant anything directly under power lines.
• Within 10 feet of electric line, plant only low-growing shrubs or hedges.
• Trees that grow to heights of up to 40 feet should be planted 20 to 30 feet away from electric lines.
• Where electric service is underground, do not plant anything within 10 feet of the pad-mounted transformers. And remember, find out where all underground utilities are located before digging.
• Do not plant trees in the right-of-way of high capacity transmission lines.

If you are in doubt about the easement situation in your area, please check with LG&E or KU customer service and we can assist.

A local arborist, a nursery operator or someone from the University of Kentucky Co-Operative Extension Service can assist you with the variety of tree that would be proper for where you intend to plant. Generally, redbuds and dogwoods are good varieties to plant in yards where there may be power lines. They usually do not grow to the height of those lines.



LG&E Energy LLC, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a diversified energy services company. LG&E Energy owns and operates Louisville Gas and Electric Company, a regulated utility that serves 318,000 natural gas and 390,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Ky., that serves 518,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.