Wintry weather Thursday (1/14) and early Friday (1/15) caused little damage to PP&L, Inc.'s electric system, but the plunging temperatures resulted in the utility's customers setting an electricity-use record Thursday evening.

"Fortunately, not much ice formed on trees or electric wires during the storm to cause power outages," said Robert M. Geneczko, PP&L, Inc. vice president for Power Delivery. "Overnight, we had about 15,000 customers lose electricity across our service area. Many of those outages were caused when traffic accidents damaged poles."

The cold snowy weather, however, pushed electricity use to an all-time high, he added. "Preliminary figures show customers used 6,682,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday (1/14). That exceeds the previous record high of 6,607,000 kilowatt-hours set between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Feb. 6, 1996."

PP&L, Inc.'s system and regional emergency personnel will continue to monitor this wintry storm and are prepared to respond to any widespread power outages, Geneczko noted. "We are fully staffed and are prepared to move line crews to areas that need help, if a problem occurs."

Customers can help by reporting power outages to PP&L, Inc.'s toll-free customer service number, 1-800-342-5775 (1-800 DIAL PPL). They can report outages 24 hours a day. PP&L, Inc. asks any customer whose power goes out to call right away. Customer calls help the utility pinpoint the source of the problem, enabling crews to restore service more quickly.

The greatest threats to power lines and electrical equipment as this storm continues are ice and high winds, Geneczko said. Ice can build up on tree limbs, causing them to break and fall into power lines. Strong, gusty winds add to the potential for problems.

In these weather conditions, there is a potential for wires to be knocked down to the ground. Wires on the ground may be extremely dangerous. Anyone who encounters a fallen wire should keep a safe distance away and report the situation immediately by calling PP&L, Inc.'s toll-free number or the local emergency number (911).