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PADUCAH POWER SYSTEM: OVER 40 YEARS OF SERVICE

What was called a "Sweet Victory" for Paducah in 1961 has not soured over the years. The municipal system, formerly owned and operated by Kentucky Utilities, has been bringing public power to the citizens of Paducah since September 1, 1961.

The decision to switch from a private power company to a municipal, city owned system was not an easy or quick decision for the citizens of Paducah. The city's fight to acquire the properties began officially on February 23, 1943, when former mayor, Pierce E. Lackey was authorized by the City Commission to serve notice on Kentucky Utilities, that the city wanted to exercise its franchise option to buy the company's electric distribution properties inside the city. Over the next 17 years, city officials and concerned citizens worked diligently to buy the system and to become a distributor of TVA power.

The final effort was set in motion in June of 1960 when the City Commission passed a $6.8 million bond issue to purchase the private utility. On July 12, the Commission unanimously passed a petition that called for an election on the question of the city acquiring Kentucky Utilities’ electric system and on raising the bond issue to $7,050,000. Ward Thomas, an appliance dealer and civic leader, called the ordinance "A milestone in the progress of the City."

On July 15, 1960, the first community public meeting on this matter was held at the McCracken County Courthouse by a group of concerned citizens, known as the Citizens for TVA. John Oehlschlaeger, a pharmacist and drug store owner, served as chairman of the organization and a young, new attorney named Julian Carroll was named executive secretary.

During the next three months, the Citizens for TVA worked tirelessly to inform the citizens of Paducah about the benefits of a public power system and the savings to be obtained by being a distributor of TVA power. Many of the points were publicly discussed in what was called the "Little Great Debate" on October 30, 1960. During the debate, Carroll spoke at length on the role of the Electric Plant Board and the benefits lower rates would provide residents if the system was acquired by the city.

On November 8, when the votes were counted, 8,964 had voted yes (2,807 voted no) to the question: "Are you in favor of the city of Paducah, Kentucky purchasing an electric plant at the price of $5,861,638 and the issuance of revenue bonds in the amount of $7,050,000 to pay the purchase price and the related costs and expenses?" During the next nine months, both parties prepared documents to transfer the property to the Electric Plant Board. The transfer was completed on August 31, 1961; a year to the day after the City first advertised the ordinance.

Paducah Power System and TVA employees worked for the next 16 months to prepare for the switch to TVA power. In addition to TVA building a substation south of the city, the Power System constructed transmission lines to tie into the TVA system, upgrade transformers, replaced thousands of insulators and began changing from the "Delta" system to a"Y" system of electric distribution.

Julian Carroll, former Kentucky Governor, said in a past interview, "The inauguration of Paducah Power System has contributed substantially to the economic growth and progress of the city of Paducah. "Paducah Power System has always enjoyed strong leadership from the citizens of the community which has allowed it to maintain a close relationship between the people serving and the people served." Carroll contributes much of his involvement in politics to his first public political effort with the Citizens for TVA campaign.

The final meeting of the Citizens for TVA was held December 29, 1962, just two days before the final switch to TVA power. "We are not only celebrating the switch to TVA power but also the new awakening in civic interest in Paducah," Oehlschlaeger said at the meeting. A final report revealed that the campaign had been financed with $30,000 in local contributions. The actual transfer of service from KU to TVA occurred at midnight, December 31, 1962. Thus began a new era of public power in Paducah.