PP&L, Inc. will be sending about 60 linemen and support personnel to the Richmond, Va., area on Christmas morning (12/25) to provide needed help to the storm-ravaged customers of Virginia Power Co.

Thousands of homes and businesses in central and southern Virginia have been without power since an ice storm brought down trees and power lines Wednesday evening (12/23).

"Electric utilities help one another in times of need," noted Robert M. Geneczko, vice president-Power Delivery for PP&L, Inc. "We are pleased to be able to help Virginia Electric Power in its efforts to restore service to its customers as quickly as possible."

In the spring of 1998, Virginia Power provided line crews to assist PP&L, Inc. in recovering from a series of thunderstorms and tornadoes that tore across eastern and central Pennsylvania.

The PP&L, Inc. crews going to Virginia come from across PP&L, Inc.'s service area, including the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Hazleton, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

"While we are willing to provide assistance to other utilities, we also make sure to keep enough crews in the area to respond to the needs of our own customers," Geneczko noted.

PP&L, Inc. reported few, scattered outages related to the weather last night and this morning.

PP&L, Inc., a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc., generates electricity, provides electric delivery services to 1.2 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania, and trades or markets wholesale energy in the United States and Canada.