(LOUISVILLE, Ky. - January 21, 2005) With the extremely cold temperatures, Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) set a record for electricity usage on its system. The new peak of 4,065 megawatts (MW) was recorded on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

The new cold-weather peak now ranks as the highest hourly customer demand in KU's history. The former wintertime peak of 3,944 MW was set Monday, January 27, 2003 at 9 a.m. (EST). Louisville Gas & Electric Co. last set a peak of 2,623 MW on Monday, August 5, 2002 at 3.p.m (EST).

"Setting a new peak that was 121 megawatts above our previous peak is something we planned for, but is still significant," said John Voyles, LG&E Energy's Vice President of Regulated Generation. "It is a true testament to both our generating system and our employees anytime we experience and meet the demand that we experienced recently. The fact that we are able to keep the system running efficiently through extreme conditions and meet record-breaking demand speaks highly of our capable and hard-working employees."

LG&E Energy maintains a 14 percent reserve margin above its peak projections.



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 312,000 natural gas and 384,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Ky., that serves 512,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.