Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. is asking certain industrial customers to curtail their use of electricity Tuesday afternoon (5/21) to protect regional power supplies.

The curtailment request, called for by the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM), affects 66 businesses that have prearranged agreements with PP&L, noted John F. Sipics, PP&L's general manager for Power Systems Support.

Those industrial customers receive a lower price for electricity year-round in exchange for agreeing to cut back on power use during periods of high demand. PP&L is asking those customers to curtail power use by 1 p.m.

Sipics added that the PJM power pool does not expect to call for further customer actions unless it loses a large generating unit or the ability to import power from other regions.

Customer demand for electricity throughout the region has increased over Monday's high levels as summer-like heat and humidity continues to grip the Northeast. Power demand is at or near record levels for May, although it has not approached all-time summer records for either PP&L or the PJM power pool.

Steamy conditions, coupled with the fact that a number of large power plants across the region are out of service for scheduled maintenance in preparation for expected high customer demand in the summer months, have made for tight electricity supplies across the Northeast.

PP&L is asking its 1.1 million residential customers to use electricity wisely during the hot spell. One way they can help, Sipics noted, is by shifting the use of major appliances -- such as dishwashers, washing machines and clothes dryers -- to early morning or evening hours, when demand for power is lower.

Other measures customers may take to save electricity include:

-- Set air conditioner thermostats to 80 degrees, or use fans instead.

-- Block the sun with drapes and shades to keep homes cool.

-- Don't open refrigerator and freezer doors more than necessary.

-- Turn off TVs, stereos and radios when no one is watching or listening.

"Following these guidelines will help avoid possible power shortages, but people should be most concerned with their own health and safety," Sipics said. "Customers should use the electricity they need to protect themselves from the heat."

PP&L will continue to inform customers on the status of power supplies and actions they may take to help conserve electricity.

The PJM power pool coordinates the distribution of electricity to more than 22 million customers in a 50,000-square-mile area in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Washington, D.C. PP&L is one of 11 PJM-member utilities.

PP&L serves 1.2 million customers in 29 counties of eastern and central Pennsylvania.