In 1999, Kentucky had 29 electric generating plants. Total installed capacity (utility and nonutility) was 16.5 million kW in the same year, and 93.1 billion kWh of power were produced. Southern Kentucky shares in the power produced by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which supports a coal-fired steam electric plant in Kentucky at Paducah.
Most of Kentucky's coal came from the western fields of the interior coal basin until late in the 19th century, when the lower-sulfur Cumberland Plateau coal reserves of the Appalachian region were discovered. In 2000, eastern Kentucky produced an estimated 104,901,000 tons of coal, and western Kentucky 25,787,000. Kentucky, with 482 active mines in 1998, has more mines than any other state. All coal mined is bituminous. Much of the mining in Kentucky is done by out-of-state companies; a number of oil companies have acquired coal companies as a hedge against declining petroleum resources. Recoverable coal reserves as of 2001 were estimated at 258 million tons in western Kentucky and 829 million tons in eastern Kentucky.
In 2002, Kentucky produced 7,000 barrels per day of crude petroleum; the state was estimated to have about 17 million barrels of proved oil reserves in 2001. The oil industry was centered in Henderson County. In 2001, Kentucky marketed 81.7 billion cu ft (2.3 billion cu m) of natural gas. As of the beginning of 2001, the state was estimated to have proved reserves totaling 1,860 billion cu ft (52.68 billion cu m) of natural gas. In 2000 Kentucky's total per capita energy consumption was 462 million Btu (116.4 million kcal), ranking it 7th among the 50 states.
Oil shale is found in a band stretching from Lawrence County in the northeast through Madison and Washington counties in central Kentucky to Jefferson County in the north-central region.