Customers Nearly Set Record for Electricity Use Wednesday

The early-season snow and record-setting cold temperatures have not deterred PPL Electric Utilities from providing reliable power to its customers for heat, lighting and appliances.

As temperatures in some areas of eastern and central Pennsylvania dropped below zero Wednesday (12/14), PPL Electric Utilities maintained reliable service to its 1.3 million customers, who came close to setting a record for electricity use.

Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., customers came within about 100 megawatt-hours of breaking the company’s all-time record for electricity use of 7,274 megawatt-hours set Dec. 20, 2004.

Because PPL Electric Utilities serves about 350,000 electric heat customers, the company’s highest electricity use occurs in the winter.

"We design, maintain and operate our power lines, substations and equipment for this type of weather, so our customers know they can count on us when they need us most," said John F. Sipics, president of PPL Electric Utilities.

This summer and fall, employees of PPL Electric Utilities identified and completed more than 500 jobs to enhance the performance and reliability of power lines and equipment – and the 10-year average of 99.98 percent in-service time.

The company installed additional switches and circuit breakers on the lines, trimmed more trees along lines where trees have been a frequent cause of power outages, and increased testing of underground lines to identify potential problems.

The PJM Interconnection, which operates the regional electric power grid for more than 51 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia, expects to have enough electricity to meet the increased use brought on by the cold weather.

PPL Electric Utilities also is monitoring an approaching winter storm that could bring snow, sleet and ice to its service area Thursday night (12/15).

"Our people, vehicles and equipment will be prepared to respond to any problems with electric service," Sipics said.
An early-season snowstorm on Dec. 9 resulted in few power outages for customers of PPL Electric Utilities.

PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation, has had "Highest Customer Satisfaction With Residential Electric Service in the Eastern United States"* five years in a row. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) controls about 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to nearly 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.

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* J.D. Power and Associates 2001-2005 Electric Utilities Residential Customer Satisfaction StudiesSM. 2005 study based on a total of 26,782 consumer responses. The 15 largest electric companies in the eastern United States were ranked in the study. www.jdpower.com.