As of Tuesday morning (9/23), more than 33,500 PP&L customers had signed up to participate in the Customer Choice Pilot Program.

There are about 61,000 slots available in the program. To qualify for the initial enrollment period, customers must sign up before next Monday, Sept. 29.

"There's still time for customers to sign up for this program, which will provide them with an opportunity to save money and to learn more about how customer choice will work in Pennsylvania," said Hank Baumann, PP&L's customer choice pilot administrator.

PP&L mailed information on the pilot to all 1.2 million of its customers, inviting them to sign up. Participation is limited to 5 percent of the company's customers. If more than 5 percent of customers in a given group volunteer, participants will be selected through a random drawing.

Pilot participants will have the opportunity to select the company that generates their electricity from a number of suppliers that are licensed in the commonwealth. A division of PP&L will be among those offering competitively priced electricity.

The pilot runs through the end of 1998. Beginning in January 1999, customer choice will be phased in for all Pennsylvania electric customers over a three-year period.

Customers who elect to participate will receive a credit of up to 4 cents on their bills for each kilowatt-hour of electricity they purchase in the competitive market. The credit varies based on customer class. A customer's net savings will result from the difference between the cost of electricity purchased in the competitive market and the amount of the customer credit.

As customers have the opportunity to choose, PP&L will continue to provide customer services, deliver electricity and maintain electric lines.

PP&L customers who would like to sign up or get more detailed information on the pilot program should visit our pilot information page or call 1-888-668-4775.