As initially announced by PP&L, Inc., last August, the Holtwood steam electric station soon will be a memory, but a memory of good people who worked to make their corner of Lancaster County, Pa., an important part of the company's power generation mix.

Effective Thursday night, April 29, the coal-fired Unit 17 at Holtwood was shut down. Within two months, the coal yard will be smoothed over and grass planted. By June 2000, the plant will be demolished. While that demolition work proceeds, the nearby and popular Holtwood tailrace fishing area will be closed until June 2000 as well, but it could reopen sooner if that work is completed ahead of schedule.

PP&L, Inc.'s adjacent hydroelectric plant, located on the lower Susquehanna River, will continue to operate.

Robert G. Byram, PP&L, Inc.'s senior vice president of Generation and chief nuclear officer, said Unit 17 is being closed as a result of an extensive assessment of the cost effectiveness of all of PP&L, Inc.'s power plants.

Byram, said, "While the competitive marketplace created the conditions we face and the tough decisions we had to make, we recognize the work of our Holtwood employees. Their commitment to the steam plant has been superb and their record enviable. There is no question about the quality of our employees and their commitment to doing their jobs thoroughly and safely."

Byram continued, "The decision to close Unit 17 wasn't a reflection of the work our employees performed. In fact, we are fortunate that the employees at the Holtwood steam electric station will take their expertise elsewhere in our system."

There were 84 Holtwood employees who were displaced. Ten employees have elected to retire. Some will remain at the hydroelectric station. Others will move to other plants for other duties.

"I'm pleased that we have been able to place our employees who ran Unit 17," said Byram. "They will carry a strong tradition with them as they move to other positions in PP&L."

Unit 17 went online in 1954. It had been producing 72,000 kilowatts of electricity in the summer and 73,000 kilowatts in the winter. Overall, Unit 17 represented about 2 percent of PP&L, Inc.'s electricity generating capacity.

Holtwood always has had a strong tradition of power generation, ever since the hydroelectric plant there generated its first power in 1910. A coal-fired unit was brought online in 1924 to begin burning the anthracite mined from the bottom of the river. In 1954, a larger coal-fired unit was brought online, the one that is closing. The other two coal-fired units at Holtwood were closed in 1972. The former Pennsylvania Water & Power Co., which PP&L, Inc., acquired in 1955, developed the hydroelectric and steam electric plants.