As work continues on the lists provided to PP&L by electricity suppliers, the company said Tuesday (11/25) figures now show that 43,000 out of 61,000 PP&L pilot participants have selected a supplier.

"The number of participants who have selected a supplier has risen significantly since Thursday (11/20), when we last reported results," said Douglas Krall, PP&L's pilot coordinator. "We now estimate that 70 percent of PP&L pilot participants selected a supplier."

Krall said the increase is the result of continued processing of lists that were provided to PP&L by suppliers last Wednesday (11/19).

He explained that there is substantial processing work involved in ensuring that customers are signed up with the appropriate electricity supplier.

"After a great deal of work over the past several days, we now believe that we have the majority of the records processed," said Krall.

PP&L pilot program participants will be buying electricity from 22 energy suppliers. PP&L offered competitively priced electricity to customers throughout the state through its PP&LEnergyPlus brand.

The pilot program is the first step in the phase in of customer choice for all Pennsylvanians. Under customer choice, Pennsylvania consumers and businesses will have the opportunity to select the company that supplies their electricity. The state's current electric utilities -- including PP&L-- will continue to deliver electricity to homes and businesses.

Statewide, about 270,000 customers were selected to participate in late September. The goal is to have 5 percent of Pennsylvania's electricity users selecting the company that generates their electricity. The pilot runs until Jan. 1, 1999, when one-third of all Pennsylvania electricity users will have the opportunity to shop for their electricity supplier. A second third will have that opportunity by Jan. 1, 2000, and all customers will have choice by Jan. 1, 2001.

Nov. 14 was the PUC-established deadline for participants in the first phase of the pilot program to select a new supplier.

Customers who did not select a new supplier by the Nov. 14 deadline will forfeit their pilot slots to customers who had volunteered to participate in the program but were not selected for the first phase.

As a result, on Dec. 1, PP&L will begin notifying an additional 23,600 customers that they now will have the opportunity to select their supplier. The new group of customers will have until Jan. 16 to choose a supplier.