PP&L, Inc. is asking customers to call only to report power outages and other emergencies on Friday (1/29) while it conducts work needed to install a new computer system for customer records.
The new system has many features. It will enable PP&L, Inc. to provide customers more detailed information on their bill. Under Pennsylvania's Electric Choice Program, electric distribution companies such as PP&L, Inc. must itemize the charges on the bills they send to customers each month.
In addition, the new system is Year 2000 compliant. It's part of a comprehensive PP&L, Inc. effort to ensure that the company's computer systems and embedded technologies will operate properly on Jan. 1, 2000, and other critical dates. PP&L, Inc. has been working on the Year 2000 issue since 1996.
"We are asking for only emergency calls on Friday, because we will be converting more than 1 million customer records from our existing system," said John F. Sipics, PP&L, Inc. vice president for Delivery Services & Economic Development. "It is a complex process that requires all of our available resources."
He said customers may call at any time to report a power outage or other emergency, but asked that they defer routine business calls, such as checking on an account balance or new electric service request, to a business day other than Jan. 29. Normal business hours for PP&L, Inc.'s customer service center are weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
PP&L, Inc. is replacing the computer system that for 30 years has supported key business functions such as billing, meter reading and collection of overdue accounts.
Sipics said PP&L, Inc. has taken measures to assure that customers continue to receive quality service during the transition to the new system. But, he acknowledged, new computer systems often have "bugs" that require adjustments and corrections in the first months of operation.
"Customers may notice some problems initially, such as longer times on hold when they call our customer service center," he said. "We are working to keep problems to a minimum and correct any that do occur quickly."
PP&L, Inc. -- a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc. of Allentown, Pa. services to 1.2 million customers in Pennsylvania, and trades or markets wholesale energy in the United States and Canada.