PPL : LG&E and KU Release Resources to Florida Ahead of Hurricane Matthew's Arrival

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) - With a state of emergency declared for all of Florida and Hurricane Matthew tracking in the state's direction, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company are answering a call for utility assistance ahead of the storm's arrival.

LG&E and KU have coordinated the release of more than 140 contractor line technicians, team leaders, tree trimmers and additional support staff to assist Florida Power and Light. The contractor crews are being dispatched from areas across the LG&E and KU service territory including Lexington, London, Louisville, Maysville, Mount Sterling and Richmond, Kentucky as well as Norton, Virginia. The crews will mobilize and begin the trip to Florida Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. Once they arrive, they'll participate in pre-staging activities as officials track the hurricane's path and will be assigned to locations as needed following its impact.

The efforts are a result of LG&E and KU's participation in nationwide mutual assistance organizations, in which a collection of utility companies assist other utilities in times of natural disasters and crisis situations.

LG&E and KU participate in four mutual assistance programs with Southeastern Electric Exchange, Great Lakes Mutual Assistance, Midwest Mutual Assistance and Southern Gas Association. The partnerships provide access to invaluable resources and hundreds of crews from more than 20 states when mobilizing for potential large scale restoration efforts.

Here in Kentucky

LG&E and KU customers are always the utilities' top priority. Before making a decision to send crews, LG&E and KU ensure there are ample resources on hand for everything from routine maintenance to emergency situations. The utilities take many factors into consideration - including the weather heading toward Kentucky - when allocating resources.

The utilities pull small numbers of resources from across the service territories to ensure ample resources are available for the local areas. To help put this into perspective, LG&E and KU cover more than 90 counties in Kentucky and have more than 40 crew centers.

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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 nearly 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 322,000 natural gas and 403,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 546,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.