LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the 1970s, E.ON U.S., parent of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, set the industry standard for sulfur dioxide removal by developing and deploying scrubber technology at its coal-fired generating stations. Today the company is being recognized for pioneering another type of environmental technology: continuous mercury monitors.

At a recent awards ceremony, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) presented E.ON U.S. the 2007 Technology Transfer Award for being an industry leader in testing continuous mercury monitors at the company's Trimble County Station.

Leading up to the passage of the 2005 Clean Air Mercury Rule, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) launched a national demonstration project in 2004 to test and evaluate ways to monitor mercury emissions from coal-fired generating units. E.ON U.S.'s Trimble County Station was successful in being selected as one of only two sites in the United States where testing would occur, due to the unique configuration of the station's environmental control equipment.

"By 2010, more than 1000 coal-fired generating facilities across the nation must begin tracking mercury emissions," said John Moffett, Manager of System Lab and Environmental Compliance for E.ON U.S. "We have been instrumental in refining this new technology through extensive testing and are now in a position to make better decisions for our company and our customers regarding mercury emissions compliance."

Chuck Dene, EPRI Project Manager of Continuous Emission Monitoring added: "EPRI members have said that the Continuous Mercury Monitoring was the most significant project conducted in 2006, and one that will affect most electric utilities over the next five years. E.ON U.S.'s first-hand experience will better prepare utilities across the nation to meet the standards set forth in the Clean Air Mercury Rule."

The operation and testing of continuous mercury monitors at Trimble County will continue through August.

E.ON U.S., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a subsidiary of E.ON A.G., the world's largest investor-owned energy services provider. E.ON U.S. is a diversified energy services company that owns and operates Louisville Gas and Electric Company, a regulated utility that serves 324,000 natural gas and 398,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Ky., that serves 531,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.