Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities issue RFP for electric power generation

Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company are seeking sources of additional generation capacity to meet a potential energy shortfall that will be created by the expected retirements of several coal-fired electric plants.

The companies issue a request for proposals last week seeking from 300 to 900 megawatts beginning in 2025 to 2028. Proposals must be for at least 100 megawatts and must be delivered to the utilities’ transmission system. Further, the utilities are asking for at least 100 megawatts of battery storage on their system.

The energy will be needed to replace three coal-fired plants, Mill Creek Units 1 and 2 and E.W. Brown Unit 3, which will be retired later this decade. These facilities are reaching the end of their economic lives, and the utilities are evaluating all available generation options.

“These units have enabled us to deliver safe, reliable power to our customers for decades, but they are nearing the end of their life cycles. Keeping them operating would require costly investments, and given their age, it would not be in the best interest of our customers to further invest in these units,” David Sinclair, LG&E and KU’s vice president of Energy Supply and Analysis, said. “The request for proposal will allow us the opportunity to evaluate a number of options to ensure that we continue to serve our customers energy needs in the most reliable, least-cost fashion without committing LG&E and KU to any particular business decision.”

Mill Creek Unit 1, built in 1972, has 300 megawatts of capacity and is expected to be retired in 2024. Mill Creek Unit 2, a 297-megawatt unit built in 1974, and Brown Unit 3, a 412-megawatt unit built in 1971, are expected to be retired by 2028.

Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation. They serve nearly 1.3 million customers in the state.