The latest round of severe weather in Pennsylvania late this afternoon and early evening interrupted service to about 45,000 customers throughout PP&L, Inc.'s service area. PP&L, Inc., crews were on standby at emergency centers throughout the service area in anticipation of the storms and responded immediately to outage calls.

High winds and numerous lightning strikes affected service to customers. The high winds knocked down trees and limbs, breaking poles and pulling down wires.

As of 10 p.m., 30,000 customers remained without power. PP&L, Inc., crews will continue working through the night to restore service to customers affected by the severe storms. In addition, the company also sought assistance from nearby power delivery companies and contractors to assist in the restoration effort. However, those companies were also affected by the storms. PP&L, Inc., will continue to seek assistance.

"Our crews were on standby in our emergency centers in anticipation of this latest round of severe weather as we monitored storm conditions throughout the day," said Robert M. Geneczko, vice president of Power Delivery for PP&L, Inc. "Once the storms hit, they were able to immediately respond to outage calls."

A large number of customers were affected because of the severity of the storms and because they struck throughout PP&L, Inc.'s 10,000-square-mile service area in eastern and central Pennsylvania, Geneczko explained.

PP&L, Inc., crews will continue working until service has been restored to all customers affected by the recent storms.