Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.'s collaborative efforts with state and economic development groups have helped attract nearly 30,000 jobs to Central Eastern Pennsylvania during the last five years, a PP&L senior manager told state senators Wednesday (7/19).
Michael J. Montgomery, PP&L's manager of Economic Development and Community Affairs, testified before the state Senate Labor and Industry Committee at a special hearing in Allentown on job retention and attraction in Pennsylvania.
Montgomery, a former deputy secretary for project management in the state Commerce Department, said that PP&L's partnership with the state to assist in economic development efforts has been very successful in retaining and attracting jobs.
"Since 1990, PP&L has worked with existing businesses in our service territory in 373 industrial expansions that have created 17,000 new jobs — on top of jobs that have been retained," Montgomery said.
Montgomery said that PP&L plays a leading role in economic development efforts throughout its service territory in Pennsylvania.
"Our programs have been developed to work in conjunction with state economic development programs, thereby leveraging additional funds and maximizing resources," Montgomery said.
He cited three key PP&L programs — the Partnership Program for Speculative Shell Buildings, the Site Feasibility Study Program and the Partnership Program for Site Acquisition — that help communities develop business and industrial parks and attract and retain business.
The Moosic Mountain Industrial Park in the northeastern part of the state, the Pocono Mountain Business Park in Monroe County and Lehigh Valley Industrial Park IV were developed with support of these PP&L programs, Montgomery said.
"Every year we work with dozens of companies that are interested in locating a facility in Central Eastern Pennsylvania," Montgomery said. "We also work with companies that already have facilities in our service area to help them increase their competitiveness and expand operations, thereby creating and retaining jobs."
Montgomery said economic development studies point to reliable and cost-effective energy as a major reason why businesses stay in or locate to an area.
"PP&L is confident that we will continue to be a superior energy value for both current and future customers," he said. "Our consistently good availability of diversified service options is recognized as outstanding."
PP&L has offered several initiatives in the past 10 years that have resulted in large price decreases for some industrial customers. Montgomery said PP&L has passed on a savings of about $129 million to customers through its Economic Development Incentive Rate and Industrial Development Incentive Rate.
Recently, the state Public Utility Commission approved two innovative PP&L rate proposals. One is the state's first real-time pricing plan for electricity — giving industrial customers hourly price information and allowing them to shift usage to lower-cost periods. The other gives PP&L greater flexibility in pricing for certain large industrial customers.
"Moreover, with respect to energy costs, it's important to note that, even if the full amount of our current rate increase is approved, our industrial rates still will be lower than the average costs in our region," Montgomery said.
PP&L has asked the state Public Utilities Commission to approve a rate increase of $261 million, or 11.7 percent.