PIKEVILLE, Ky., (Oct. 27, 2017) – Kentucky Power on Friday presented a $120,000 economic development grant to the City of Pikeville to help draw industry and jobs to the region.
The award will help fund geotechnical surveying, geophysical boring and plot design at the Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park. Study results can confirm that the former surface mine site is safe and stable and can be used to attract industry development to the 385-acre site. The City of Pikeville, SOAR and One East Kentucky also will provide matching funds for the $300,000 study.
“The funding of this project would not only be an investment in the City of Pikeville, but for an entire region that is desperate for local, well-paying jobs,” Pikeville leaders said in their grant application. “It would create information that would soundly solidify the Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park as a premiere site for industry development.”
Friday’s award includes $100,000 from the Kentucky Power Economic Growth Grant (K-PEGG) program and $20,000 from American Electric Power (AEP). The K-PEGG program is a partnership between Kentucky Power customers and stockholders. Each month customers contribute 15 cents through the Kentucky Economic Development Surcharge. That 15 cents is matched dollar for dollar by stockholders. The Kentucky Public Service Commission approved the program in 2015.
“Our partnership with our customers through the Kentucky Power Economic Growth Grant program is helping to revitalize eastern Kentucky through economic development,” said Kentucky Power President Matt Satterwhite. “We are working together to better our communities and to continue our work to bring investment and jobs to eastern Kentucky.
The K-PEGG program is a rolling fund that generates more than $600,000 annually for investment at the local and regional levels. The program is available in all 20 counties served by Kentucky Power.
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