After restoring power to its customers affected by this week's winter storm, PP&L, Inc. sent a group of 78 linemen and support personnel to the Baltimore area early Saturday (1/16) to assist customers of a neighboring utility.
PP&L, Inc. crews restored service to about 26,000 customers left without power during the sleet and ice storm. More than 20,000 of the customers affected live in Lancaster County.
"We prepared for the worst," said Robert M. Geneczko, vice president of Power Delivery for PP&L, Inc. "As a result, we were able to respond to most of the power outages quickly. We restored service to more than 90 percent of the customers affected by this storm in less than four hours."
The final storm-related outages in the PP&L, Inc. service area were repaired Friday evening (1/15).
With its customers back in service, PP&L, Inc. was able to respond to a request for help from Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., which is still repairing damage caused by the ice storm.
It's the second time in less than a month that PP&L, Inc. has sent help to another electric utility hit by an ice storm. On Christmas Day, PP&L, Inc. line crews and support personnel went to the Richmond, Va., area to help restore electric service to customers of Virginia Power.
"We are pleased to be able to support Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.'s request for help. We assist other electric utilities when we can, and we're able to call other electric utilities for help when we need it," Geneczko said.
The group of 78 linemen and support personnel -- coming from across PP&L, Inc.'s 29-county service area in eastern and central Pennsylvania -- arrived in the Baltimore area early this morning (1/16) to begin work.
Geneczko noted that whenever PP&L, Inc. sends linemen to other areas, it keeps a number of linemen "at home" to handle the emergency needs of its customers.
PP&L, Inc. -- a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc. of Allentown, Pa. -- generates electricity, provides electric delivery services to 1.2 million customers in Pennsylvania, and trades or markets wholesale energy in the United States and Canada.