ALLENTOWN, Pa. (August 8, 2001) -- Customers of PPL Electric Utilities continue to use record amounts of electricity in their efforts to beat the current heat wave.

PPL Electric Utilities established a new summer use record Tuesday (8/7) afternoon when it delivered an estimated 6,661 megawatt-hours between 4 and 5 p.m. Prior to this year, the summer use record for PPL Electric Utilities was 6,387 megawatt-hours.

As temperatures climbed into the 90s again across eastern and central Pennsylvania, electricity use was near record levels Wednesday afternoon, reaching about 6,500 megawatt-hours at the peak.

Customer electricity use would have been higher, possibly topping Tuesday’s level, but PPL Electric Utilities, at the request of the regional PJM Interconnection, asked a group of industrial customers with special contracts to reduce their electricity use Wednesday afternoon.

Those customers are able to buy electricity at a lower price than standard industrial rates in exchange for agreeing to cut back on their usage temporarily when needed to help preserve reliability.

PJM is an independent organization that coordinates electric delivery for 22 million people in five mid-Atlantic states. PJM coordinates more than 58,000 megawatts of generating capacity and operates a wholesale electricity market with more than 200 buyers, sellers and traders of electricity

PPL Electric Utilities has continued to deliver power reliably to its 1.3 million customers in 29 Pennsylvania counties throughout the heat wave, which is expected to continue at least through Thursday.

Customers can help ensure continued reliability by using energy wisely. Simple things that residential customers can do, if health permits, include:

• Setting air conditioner thermostats at 78 degrees.

• Using major electric appliances such as washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers and electric ranges in the early morning or evening, when demand for electricity is lower.

• Closing shades, drapes or blinds to keep the sun out during the day.