The realignment of the business activities of PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) into four subsidiary companies, which takes effect today (7/1), marks the beginning of a new era for PPL, which has transformed itself from a regional provider of electricity service into a dynamic worldwide energy company.

"We've been producing unprecedented earnings with an integrated corporate strategy that focuses on growth in key markets worldwide and on continued attention to operational excellence in each of our businesses," said William F. Hecht, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

"Our strategy is to generate, market and deliver competitively priced energy in key U.S. markets, and to own and operate high-quality energy delivery businesses in selected regions around the world," Hecht said.

"This new corporate alignment will further sharpen our focus on operational excellence, and on contributing to increased shareowner value," he said.

"We are confident that our record of strong earnings growth in 1999 and the first quarter of 2000 will continue for the rest of 2000, and for 2001 as well," Hecht said.

PPL has forecast earnings of $2.65 per share for 2000, and $3.00 per share in 2001. Hecht pointed out that the company's 2001 earnings forecast represents a 60 percent increase in earnings per share over a three-year period.

The realignment establishes four operating subsidiaries under PPL Corp., the holding company:

• PPL Generation operates the company's existing domestic power plants in Pennsylvania, Maine and Montana. Together with new plants under development in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Arizona and Long Island, N.Y., PPL is well on the way toward achieving its goal to have 20,000 megawatts of domestic generating capacity by the middle of this decade.
• PPL EnergyPlus markets energy to end-use customers in deregulated markets in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine, Montana and Delaware; markets electricity and natural gas at the wholesale level in 43 states and Canada, and provides a variety of value-added energy services to business customers.
• PPL Utilities delivers electricity to PPL's 1.3 million electricity customers in Pennsylvania, and also operates the company's natural gas and propane delivery businesses in Pennsylvania and Maryland. PPL Utilities ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Mid-sized Business Electric Service in the Eastern United States in a recent study by J.D. Power and Associates and Navigant Consulting.
• PPL Global actively manages a growing international energy business in selected regions overseas, including Latin America and the United Kingdom. PPL Global affiliates deliver electricity to 1.4 million customers in southwest Britain and to nearly 1.8 million customers in Chile, Bolivia, El Salvador and Brazil. The company also develops and acquires generating plants in the United States, and operates generation facilities in Latin America and Europe.
  

Also established in the realignment is a services company, to provide corporate services to the operating subsidiaries.

The realignment, originally announced early this year, was completed following the receipt of various regulatory approvals. There were no changes in staffing levels in the PPL family of companies as a result of the realignment. Through its various companies, PPL now employs about 12,500 people worldwide in the United States, Latin America and the United Kingdom.

PPL was a leader in Pennsylvania in the effort to open the Commonwealth's electricity market to competition. But even as the company was taking these bold public steps on the deregulation front, PPL was transforming itself internally to take advantage of new opportunities.

Here's a summary of the key events of recent years:

• The formation of a holding company in 1994 to serve as parent to the regulated electric utility.
• The formation that same year of the company now known as PPL Global to develop, acquire and actively manage power projects domestically and internationally.
• Initial investment in a British regional electric company, South Western Electricity, now known as Western Power Distribution, in 1996, and in Empresas Emel S.A., a Chilean holding company with electric utility operations in Chile and Bolivia, in 1997.
• The first steps in the formation of our PPL EnergyPlus business line, which led the company's entry into deregulated retail energy supply markets, in 1997.
• The acquisition of the first of several mechanical contracting firms in 1997, marking our entry into this value-added energy services field.
• Acquisition of Penn Fuel Gas in 1998, marking a key expansion into the natural gas storage and delivery business.
• Announcement in 1998 of power plant purchases in Maine and Montana, followed in subsequent years by news of new power plant development projects in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York.
• Continued investments in the United Kingdom and Latin America, bringing PPL Global's total investments or commitments to $2.5 billion.
  

"In many ways, we've come a long way from the time when our only customers and facilities were in central eastern Pennsylvania," said Hecht. "But while we have grown, we still retain the same values — a belief in integrity and meeting customer needs — that made us one of the most successful electric utility companies in the United States."

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corp. believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. The following are among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: market demand and prices for energy, capacity and fuel; weather variations affecting customer energy usage; competition in retail and wholesale power markets; the effect of any business or industry restructuring; the profitability and liquidity of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries; new accounting requirements or new interpretations or applications of existing requirements; operating performance of plants and other facilities; environmental conditions and requirements; system conditions and operating costs; performance of new ventures; political, regulatory or economic conditions in countries where PPL Corp. or its subsidiaries conduct business; capital market conditions; foreign exchange rates; and the commitments and liabilities of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such factors and in conjunction with PPL Corp.'s Form 10-K and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

J.D. Power and Associates/Navigant Consulting, Inc. 2000 Electric Utility Midsize Business Customer Satisfaction StudySM. Study based on a total of 5,665 midsize business customer responses. In the Eastern U.S., the top 13 largest electric companies were ranked in the study. www.jdpower.com.