Manuel Pernia of Little Rock, Ark., has been appointed to the new position of manager-Corporate Safety at Pennsylvania Power & Light Co., effective July 17.

Pernia, currently director of Operations Support for Entergy Corp. in Little Rock, will be responsible for PP&L's corporate safety programs. He will report to Frank Long, PP&L's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

"We're very happy to have Manuel Pernia join PP&L," Long said. "He has broad experience in utility safety and training, and was selected following a thorough search that included interviewing a number of candidates both internally and externally in order to find the best person for this new position."

Creation of a corporate safety manager position was one of the key recommendations made by a joint bargaining unit-management team studying safety issues at PP&L in late 1993. That recommendation was affirmed, and the position created, during the company's restructuring effort in 1994, Long said.

At Entergy, Pernia has been responsible for the development, implementation and evaluation of safety programs throughout the four- state area covered by Entergy's utility operations. Processes he implemented have assisted in accomplishing record performance in employee safety during three consecutive years. His other responsibilities have included skills training, claims, security and revenue protection processes.

Pernia holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Business Administration from Loyola University of the South, New Orleans, La. He currently is a candidate for a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

He began his utility career in 1969 as a distribution serviceman doing line work for Louisiana Power & Light Co., a position he held until 1978. Subsequently, he held the positions of human resources specialist, safety and training specialist and manager of safety and skills training before moving to LP&L's parent company, Entergy, in 1991.