Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.'s chairman said Thursday (7/11) that he believes that both federal and state initiatives are needed to ensure that all U.S. consumers have an opportunity to benefit from increased competition in the electricity marketplace.

"We are very encouraged with Thursday's introduction of this legislation by Rep. Dan Schaefer," said William F. Hecht, PP&L's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "This bill is particularly important because it would establish a nationwide timeline for customer choice."

Schaefer (R-Colorado) introduced legislation that would define a framework for the transition to more competition in the electric industry.

PP&L is one of seven members of Partnership for Customer Choice, a nationwide group of electric companies that are urging a swift transition.

"PP&L is convinced that providing consumers with an opportunity to choose their electricity supplier will benefit all those who have a stake in the electric utility industry," said Hecht. "We believe that it is possible to have customer choice in Pennsylvania by the end of this decade."

Hecht said PP&L will review the details of Schaefer's proposed legislation and make comments as appropriate.

"We believe that state legislatures and regulatory agencies should have the prime responsibilities in bringing customer choice to their constituents," said Hecht. "The bill proposed by Rep. Schaefer today acknowledges that the states are the lead parties in this transition, but it ensures that all states will take some action by the end of the year 2000. We think that setting a target is an important way to ensure that we don't lose momentum on this transition."

Pennsylvania Power & Light Co., which serves 1.2 million customers in central and eastern Pennsylvania, is the electric utility subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc. Other PP&L Resources subsidiaries are Power Markets Development Co., an international independent power company; and Spectrum Energy Services, which markets energy-related services and products.