A line of severe storms swept through the majority of the PP&L, Inc.'s service area late this afternoon (1/18) and early evening.

This unusual winter storm was accompanied by heavy rains, thunder, lightning and high winds. This storm caused local flooding and the high winds caused tree limbs to be blown into overhead conductors.

The storm, which began about 3 p.m, caused power outages to 11,100 PP&L, Inc. customers throughout the company's 29-county service area. The hardest-hit areas include the Bethlehem and Buxmont areas of the Lehigh region, Lancaster and Quarryville areas of the Lancaster region, Bloomsburg area of the Susquehanna region and the Hamlin and Honesdale areas of the Northeast region. By 9 p.m., power had been restored to about 6,500 customers.

PP&L, Inc. system and regional emergency personnel monitored the storm earlier today, and crews responded immediately to outage calls and will continue to work throughout the night to complete the restoration work.

"Our crews began working under severe hardships this afternoon to begin their restoration work," said Bob Geneczko, vice president of Power Delivery. "Their work will continue until all customers have their power restored."

PP&L, Inc. customers are reminded that if they are without power to notify PP&L, Inc. immediately by calling 1-800-DIAL PPL (1-800-342-5775). They shouldn't rely on their neighbors to report a neighborhood outage. PP&L, Inc. needs to obtain all the information it can through telephone calls from customers to determine the extent of an outage and the crews needed to complete the restoration work.

The high winds that accompanied this afternoon's storms have blown down trees and tree limbs into power lines, resulting in broken poles and downed wires. Anyone who sees a downed wire should notify PP&L, Inc. You should warn others to stay away from all downed wires and always assume that wires are energized.