Duke Energy Ohio & Kentucky has announced the recipients of its 2025 Economic Development Awards, which honor communities and individuals for their contributions to economic growth in the region. The awards, first introduced in 2023, are presented annually within Duke Energy’s Ohio and Kentucky service areas.
This year, the City of Fairfield in Ohio received the Duke Energy Partner Achievement Award. The city was recognized for its collaboration with Duke Energy on various projects during 2025 and for ongoing development efforts over the past five years. Notable achievements include supporting business growth with companies such as Koch Foods and Pacific Manufacturing.
The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, known as The Port, was given the Duke Energy Visionary Achievement Award. The organization played a key role in projects like Givaudan in Reading, Ohio, and continues to partner with Duke Energy to address infrastructure needs for future customers. The Port also works with the company to review sites and develop strategic plans for further development.
Four members of Duke Energy’s own team—Martin Rios, Dina Riemann, Andre Rose from transactional legal support, and Roger Zimmerman, an electric distribution planner—were honored with the Energizing Economic Development Award for their work on important projects and assisting with economic development requests.
In the previous year, Duke Energy’s Economic Development team collaborated with state and regional partners to secure new investments totaling more than $548 million in capital and helped bring over 1,000 jobs to the area.
The company’s site readiness program aims to boost regional growth by identifying and improving industrial sites. Since its inception, this initiative has evaluated 42 locations across southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
Partnerships with organizations such as REDI Cincinnati—the region’s leading economic development group—and BE NKY Growth Partnership have contributed significantly to recent regional economic expansion.
Amy Spiller, President of Duke Energy Ohio & Kentucky, said: “Through the efforts of our economic development team and local partners, we’ve been able to bring national and global organizations to our region. It gives us great pride to have supported these efforts, which ultimately landed opportunities for our communities to grow and prosper.”
Kimm Lauterbach, President & CEO of REDI Cincinnati added: “Duke Energy’s recognition of these award recipients reflects a deep commitment to advancing economic development across the Cincinnati region. Their support elevates the communities and partners whose work is driving impactful growth, expanding opportunity and shaping a stronger future for our region.”
Duke Energy Ohio & Kentucky serves 910,000 electricity customers across a 3,000-square-mile area and provides natural gas service to 560,000 customers in a 2,650-square-mile territory within Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve approximately 8.6 million customers across six states including Florida; collectively they own about 55,100 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas operations reach about 1.7 million customers in four states.
The company is currently investing in upgrades to its electric grid while increasing cleaner generation sources such as renewables and energy storage alongside traditional options like nuclear power.
More information can be found at duke-energy.com or through the Duke Energy News Center online.
