PPL Corporation’s (NYSE: PPL) plan to sell three Maine hydroelectric dams for salmon restoration has paid its first major dividend for the community — another 10,000 megawatt-hours per year of clean, renewable electricity.

PPL has an agreement with government agencies, private nonprofit conservation groups and the Penobscot Indian Nation that will result in the sale of three dams for about $25 million. The buyers plan to remove two dams and bypass a third, improving access to 500 miles of river for the Atlantic salmon and 10 other native species of migratory fishes.

"This spring, we are adding enough capacity at our other dams to power 1,000 homes with clean, efficient and reliable hydroelectric energy," said Dennis Murphy, vice president and chief operating officer of PPL’s Eastern Fossil and Hydro unit. "This new green power is a significant benefit for the environment and for the region."

"PPL has taken a significant step toward the goal of maintaining energy production while restoring a thriving sea-run fishery for people and wildlife," said Laura Rose Day, executive director of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. "PPL’s continuing commitment to restoring the biological wealth of one of the nation’s great rivers will help ensure the project’s success."

The Penobscot River Restoration Trust has until June 2009 to purchase PPL’s Veazie, Great Works and Howland dams for about $25 million. Veazie and Great Works would be removed, and the Howland dam would be decommissioned and a bypass channel installed for fish migration.

Parties to the agreement include the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission, the Penobscot Indian Nation, American Rivers, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Trout Unlimited, the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Penobscot River Restoration Trust.

PPL increased power output at its Medway, West Enfield and Stillwater dams by placing higher "flashboards" on top of the dams, raising the water level by 12 inches. This higher water level increased the pressure of water flowing through the hydroelectric turbines, in turn increasing their electrical output.

Part of the agreement allows PPL to increase the power output at its other hydroelectric dams in Maine. The increase at Medway, West Enfield and Stillwater is the first phase of that output expansion. A decision on whether to further expand hydroelectric output at others dams has not yet been made and will depend on market conditions and other factors.

The Penobscot River, located in eastern Maine, supports the largest remaining run of Atlantic salmon in the United States. Its restoration is expected to stimulate economic benefits for businesses and communities in the area as the prized Atlantic salmon, American shad, river herring and other migratory species return.

Soon after buying nine hydroelectric dams on the Penobscot River and its tributaries in 1999 and 2000, PPL began discussions with local, state and federal groups regarding issues such as fish passage, federal operating licenses, plans for increasing energy output and Native American concerns. The restoration agreement grew out of those discussions.

PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls about 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.