BETHLEHEM, Pa.---PP&L Resources, Inc. (NYSE:PPL) has the essential components for success in a dramatically different energy marketplace, the company's top executive told about 575 shareowners Friday (4/24).

"We now have in place all the key elements necessary for the PP&L Resources family of companies to take full advantage of the immense opportunities that are presented by the rapidly evolving energy business," said William F. Hecht , PP&L Resources' chairman, president and chief executive officer, during the company's annual meeting.

"We have been -- and will continue to be -- successful because we are implementing a carefully developed strategy. We have people who understand the needs of our customers. And, we have a continuing commitment to high-quality service and reasonable prices. These factors will help make us winners in the new marketplace," said Hecht.

Hecht said that PP&L Resources "has refrained from making grandiose predictions about the future." Instead, he said, the company has taken substantial actions to shape the future of PP&L Resources and the future of the electricity business in the United States.

As a result of its efforts, the company is now selling electricity, through its PP&L EnergyPlus brand, throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

Hecht said the company's marketing efforts are based on an "understanding that substance -- not show -- wins customers. We understand that meeting customer expectations -- delivering on our promises -- will be the key to our long-term success."

Hecht said that the Allentown, Pa.-based PP&L Resources, through its various subsidiaries, is providing a wide range of energy-related services to an expanding number of customers:

• Through PP&L, Inc. , its largest subsidiary, it is generating electricity, selling retail electricity throughout Pennsylvania and buying and selling wholesale energy in 22 states and Canada. PP&L, Inc. also provides electricity delivery services to 1.2 million customers in central and eastern Pennsylvania.
• Through its PP&L Global subsidiary, the company now has interests in energy businesses in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Peru, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador and Bolivia. Global's investments and commitments now total $465 million.
• Through its PP&L Spectrum and H.T. Lyons subsidiaries, the company is offering energy services that range from design and construction of energy systems to procurement of energy to on-site energy management.

PP&L Resources also is in the process of acquiring Penn Fuel Gas,Inc., a natural gas and propane company with 100,000 customers. The company's request for permission to acquire Penn Fuel Gas is pending before the state Public Utility Commission.

"While PP&L Resources does face some short-term uncertainty arising from the regulatory actions related to the transition to a competitive electricity marketplace in Pennsylvania, the company has every reason to be confident about the future," Hecht told shareowners.

John R. Biggar , senior vice president-Financial, told shareowners that the company is financially stronger than it was five years ago.

"We have reduced our debt and financing costs. We have increased our common equity ratio. We have increased our free cash flow, which provides us with more opportunity to invest in future growth," said Biggar.

"And, we have done all these things while maintaining steady earnings," said Biggar. The company is continuing to work on its financial positioning for a more competitive business, he added.

Frank A. Long , executive vice president and chief operating officer, told shareowners of the company's growing retail and wholesale electricity marketing efforts and ongoing operational improvements.

During the meeting, which was held at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University, shareowners ratified the appointment of Price Waterhouse LLP as the company's independent accountants.

Shareowners also elected three directors to three-year terms: Stuart Heydt, chief executive officer, Penn State Geisinger Health System, Danville,Pa.; Marilyn Ware Lewis, chairman of American Water Works Company, Inc., Voorhees, N.J.; and Hecht. They will serve through April 2001.

About 79 percent of the 167 million outstanding common shares were voted during the meeting.

Directors continuing in office, and therefore not standing for election this year, are (term expiration year in parentheses): Frederick M. Bernthal,president of Universities Research Association, Washington, D.C. (1999); E. Allen Deaver, former executive vice president of Armstrong World Industries,Inc., Lancaster, Pa. (2000); Nance K. Dicciani, vice president and monomers business unit director of Rohm and Haas Co., Philadelphia (2000); William J. Flood, secretary-treasurer of Highway Equipment & Supply Co., Hazleton,Pa. (1999); Elmer D. Gates, vice chairman of Fuller Company, Bethlehem,Pa. (2000); Long (1999); and Norman Robertson, former senior vice president and chief economist of Mellon Bank, Pittsburgh (2000).