The Clay County Public School District is among those that will be recognized at the event.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Kentucky Energy Efficiency Program for Schools (KEEPS) will host an awards banquet to recognize 47 Kentucky school districts that have created successful energy-saving initiatives since January 2011.

The banquet will be held Friday, February 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Spirit Room at the KFC YUM! Center and will coincide with the Kentucky School Boards Association's annual conference.
KEEPS Stewardship, Champion and Leadership awards will be presented to school
district superintendents, energy managers and board members. Kentucky Energy and
Environment Cabinet Secretary Len Peters and University of Louisville J.B. Speed
School of Engineering Dean Dr. Neville Pinto are the keynote speakers for the event.

KEEPS is an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded program that provides
training, online resources and technical assistance to help Kentucky school
districts reduce operational costs through improved energy performance. It is a
free, non-regulatory program, which is administered by the Kentucky Pollution
Prevention Center (KPPC) at the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of
Engineering.

As participants in the KEEPS program, Kentucky school districts develop energy
management programs based on the U.S. EPA Energy Star seven-step energy management
process. KEEPS awards are presented to school districts that reach program
development and energy performance milestones throughout the process.

The event will also formally introduce the 2011 KEEPS Status Report, which provides
an overview of the free and non-regulatory services that KEEPS offers to school
districts, summarizes program activities and achievements to date, and highlights
the energy use reduction of 71,869 MMBtu and avoided energy costs of more than $4.5
million through best energy management practices implemented by the districts in
fiscal year 2011. The KEEPS Status Report is available to download on the KEEPS
website, www.kppc.org/KEEPS.

"Kentucky's school districts are setting the national standard for energy
efficiency," said KPPC Executive Director Cam Metcalf. "The investment of time and
effort that these school districts commit to their energy management programs pays
off in terms of providing a better learning environment for our students and
teachers as well as cost savings for the taxpayers who support our educational
system."

Representatives from the media who are interested in attending the KEEPS Awards
Banquet should contact Chris Wooton at (502) 852-2275 or
chris.wooton@louisville.edu.

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KPPC is Kentucky's primary resource to help businesses, industries and other
organizations develop environmentally sustainable, cost-saving solutions for
improved efficiency. Based at the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of
Engineering, KPPC provides technical information and assistance that is free,
confidential and non-regulatory. Call KPPC toll-free at (800) 334-8635, extension
8520965; call direct at (502) 852-0965; fax (502) 852-0964; email info@kppc.org; or
visit KPPC's website at www.kppc.org.