LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Eleven years after commencing a 25-year contract, the maintenance and operation of four electric generating stations in western Kentucky will return tonight from E.ON U.S.'s subsidiary, Western Kentucky Energy, to Big Rivers Electric Corporation.

All conditions of the transaction for closing under the agreements have been met and the operational control transfers to Big Rivers at midnight CDT.

"This is a bittersweet day. We are obviously very pleased to have this transaction complete because it makes financial sense to us and, importantly, will help improve the economic stability in this region," said Victor A. Staffieri, E.ON U.S. Chairman, CEO and President. "On the other hand, during WKE's 11 years of existence, we have been greatly impressed with the dedication of the employees to the plants as well as their commitment to the communities in which they live. They are great people and they will leave a void at E.ON U.S."

Those employees, many of whom are former Big Rivers' employees, will become Big Rivers' employees and continue to help provide power to the region.

The closing of the "unwind" provides new, affordable, longer-term power agreements for the area's aluminum smelters, Rio Tinto Alcan and Century Aluminum, thereby preserving the nearly 5,000 jobs in western Kentucky dependent upon the smelter operation. As part of the unwind, $61 million is being used to establish a reserve account to mitigate future rate increases for residential customers in the area.

E.ON U.S., then LG&E Energy Corp., assumed the lease of the generating units in July 1998 in what was supposed to be a 25-year deal that provided power to Big Rivers and its member cooperatives. But with the evolution of the energy market, it no longer made financial sense for the company to continue to operate and maintain the units.



E.ON U.S. LLC, 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 314,000 natural gas and 389,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Ky., that serves 538,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.