# Shelby County, Kentucky: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Shelbyville and Simpsonville Shelby County is one of the places the data center build-out is physically happening. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 2 data centers in Shelby County, 3% of Kentucky's total. Construction employs 825, up 53.1% since 2019. Shelby County is home to Shelbyville and Simpsonville. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2026”. 2 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. 2 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map, 3% of Kentucky's 2 MW of operating power plants, mostly solar 11.85¢ per kWh for Kentucky Utilities Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Shelby County Shelby County is home to Shelbyville and Simpsonville. Shelbyville18,453 residents Simpsonville3,183 residents Pleasureville75 residents · 9% of the city - Pleasureville also extends into [Henry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/henry-county). Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Shelby County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kentucky | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 48,245 | 51,243 | ▲ 6.2% | 20th of 120 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 16,428 | 16,522 | ▲ 0.6% | 83rd of 120 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $41,854 | $59,195 | ▲ 41.4% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 539 | 825 | ▲ 53.1% | 10th of 55 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.3% | 3.7% | ▲ 0.4pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 2 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Its power plants have 2 MW of capacity, 100% of it solar. Kentucky Utilities Co is the largest utility serving Shelby County, one of 6 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.85¢/kWh in 2024, below the 13.21¢ median for Kentucky utilities. Unemployment was 3.7% in August 2026, against 3.3% in 2019. Employers here counted 16,522 jobs in 2025, up 0.6% from 2019. 51,243 people live here, up 6.2% since 2020. ## Who powers Shelby County ### Utilities with service territory in Shelby County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Kentucky Utilities Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 450,673 | 11.85¢ | 32% | | Louisville Gas & Electric Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 384,902 | 12.28¢ | 42% | | Blue Grass Energy Coop Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 60,641 | 12.32¢ | 14% | | Salt River Electric Coop Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 53,479 | 10.88¢ | 23% | | Shelby Energy Coop, Inc - (KY) | Cooperative | Bundled | 17,437 | 13.21¢ | 18% | | City of Frankfort - (KY) | Municipal | Bundled | 17,200 | 11.23¢ | 42% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Solar | 2 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | LGE-KU Solar Share Facility Simpsonville | Kentucky Utilities Co | Solar | 2 MW | 2019 | ## The Shelby County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 16,522 | $59,195 | 1.00 | | Construction | 825 | $70,836 | 0.94 | | Data processing and hosting | 27 | $49,932 | 0.53 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Shelby County 2 data centers in Shelby County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | County moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2026 | In force | 2026-07 | ## Shelby County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Shelby County, Jefferson County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Shelby County | 51,243 | ▲ 0.6% | 2 MW | — | 2 | 1 | | Anderson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/anderson-county) | 25,225 | ▲ 5.7% | — | — | — | — | | Franklin County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/franklin-county) | 52,649 | ▲ 10.8% | — | — | — | — | | Henry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/henry-county) | 16,447 | ▲ 9.2% | — | — | — | — | | Jefferson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/jefferson-county) | 795,222 | ▲ 2.0% | 2,489 MW | 740 MW | 18 | 1 | | Oldham County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/oldham-county) | 70,986 | ▲ 4.1% | 581 MW | — | 2 | 2 | | Spencer County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/spencer-county) | 20,998 | ▲ 10.6% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Kentucky [All Kentucky countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky)[Jefferson County795,222 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/jefferson-county)[Oldham County70,986 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/oldham-county)[Franklin County52,649 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/franklin-county)[Anderson County25,225 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/anderson-county)[Spencer County20,998 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/spencer-county) ## Shelby County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Shelby County, Kentucky? 6 utilities have service territory in Shelby County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Kentucky Utilities Co, Louisville Gas & Electric Co, Blue Grass Energy Coop Corp, Salt River Electric Coop Corp. The largest, Kentucky Utilities Co, charged residential customers 11.85¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Shelbyville, KY in? Shelbyville is in Shelby County, Kentucky. About 18,453 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Shelby County? 1 operating plant with 2 MW of capacity. The largest is LGE-KU Solar Share Facility Simpsonville (2 MW, solar). ### Are there data centers in Shelby County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 2 data centers in Shelby County. ### Is Shelby County adding jobs? Employers counted 16,522 jobs in 2025 against 16,428 in 2019 (+0.6%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 539 to 825. ### Does Shelby County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Shelby County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/shelby-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).