Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. will join the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce and state Rep. Todd A. Eachus (D-Luzerne County) in hosting a seminar on what electricity customer choice will mean to the consumer.

The seminar, "Choices in Electricity: What It Means To You," will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 25, at the CAN DO Renaissance Center, Second Floor Community Room, 1 S. Church St., Hazleton. The program is one in a series of seminars. The first seminar was held March 13 in Tamaqua.

The seminar will consist of a presentation and a question-and- answer session.

"PP&L has been a leading advocate of bringing choice to electricity customers throughout Pennsylvania," said Martha Herron, PP&L's community development director in Hazleton. "We are committed to providing customers with the information they need to make educated choices in selecting their electricity supplier. The presentation will provide an opportunity for consumers to learn about this issue."

The state General Assembly passed customer choice legislation last November and Gov. Tom Ridge signed it into law in December. The law phases in customer choice beginning as early as 1999 with about one- third of the state's electric customers. All customers will have choice as early as 2001.

PP&L and other electric utilities in the state will offer customer choice pilot programs to test the concept. The state Public Utility Commission is reviewing the pilot plan proposals. Once approved by the PUC, the pilot programs could begin as early as this summer.

"Rep. Eachus has shown great interest in educating consumers about customer choice in electricity," Herron said. "This is a good example of business and government working together to provide the information that consumers want."

For more information on the seminar, contact Herron at (717) 459-7314.