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Perry K. Generating Station facts for kids

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Perry K. Generating Station
Perry K. in 2014.
Country United States
Location Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana
Coordinates 39°45′46″N 86°10′01″W / 39.76278°N 86.16694°W / 39.76278; -86.16694
Status Operational
Commission date Unit 4: January 1925
Unit 6: July 1938
Owner(s) Citizens Energy Group

Perry K. Generating Station is a small multi-fired power station producing steam for one of the largest central district steam heating systems in the United States. The plant is located on the south side of downtown Indianapolis, at the intersection of Kentucky Avenue and West Street. Its coal-fired units, (converted to natural gas in 2016), were among the oldest operating power plants in the United States at the time. Perry K. is owned by Citizens Thermal, a division of Citizens Energy Group.

History

In 1892–1893, the Indianapolis Light and Power Company, a predecessor of the Indianapolis Power and Light Company (IPL), constructed a generating plant on Kentucky Avenue near the intersection with West Street. The $300,000 plant, originally known as the "Kentucky Avenue Plant", had a capacity of 1,120 kilowatts. Its output was initially used for street and commercial lighting, but in 1905 the plant was modified to provide steam for the district heating of a number of downtown businesses.

A plant expansion in 1937 included the installation of 650 psig boilers and the use of pulverized coal. That same year the Kentucky Avenue plant and the nearby West plant at 744 West Washington Street were renamed as Sections K and W, respectively, of the Charles C. Perry Plant.

In 2000, IPL sold the district heating system and the Perry K plant to Citizens Gas and Coke Utility (later renamed as Citizens Energy Group).

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