Kentucky is the third largest coal producing state in the nation. It produces 10 percent of the nation’s coal with major coal deposits in the eastern Central Appalachian Basin and in the western Illinois Basin. These basins also hold minor reserves of oil and natural gas. Kentucky generates the vast majority of its electricity (92 percent) from coal, and is second only to West Virginia in this regard. As a result, it has the fifth lowest electricity prices in the nation. Coal production and jobs, however, are disappearing rapidly from Kentucky.
