PPL Electric Utilities’ new winter record for electricity use, set Monday morning, did not last long. Customers topped that record Monday evening (2/5) and appear to have edged the company’s previous all-time high for electricity use, based on preliminary figures.

As the sun set Monday and customers began returning home after the work day, electricity use surged to 7,569 megawatts between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., or enough to light more than 75 million 100-watt light bulbs. That topped the previous winter record of 7,318 megawatts used during a one-hour period earlier in the day and narrowly surpassed the company’s one-hour, all-time high of 7,554 megawatts, set Aug. 1, 2006.

“PPL Electric Utilities’ customers continue to count on the company to stay warm as bitter cold temperatures blanket central and eastern Pennsylvania,” said Bill Spence, executive vice president and chief operating officer of PPL Corporation. “Our customers can count on us to be there for them in weather conditions like this, when they need us the most.”

Spence said PPL’s Pennsylvania power plants also are playing a valuable role in meeting the region’s increased power needs and are contributing to a reliable supply of electricity.

As always, PPL Electric Utilities encourages customers to be wise, not wasteful, in their energy use. Spence said customers can save energy and help keep their homes warm by:

• Opening blinds and shades to allow sunlight in during the day and closing them at night to reduce drafts.
• Limiting the use of kitchen and bath exhaust fans, which suck heat out of homes.
• Ensuring that dampers are closed tightly on unused fireplaces.
• Closing off unoccupied rooms and keeping garage doors closed.

PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation that provides electricity delivery services to about 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania, has consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) controls more than 11,000 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.