PPL Electric Utilities is building new power lines along Routes 6 and 11 and LaPlume Road in Dalton, Lackawanna County, to improve electric reliability for customers in the Factoryville and Lake Winola area.

The new line will replace a line that is over 50 years old and will be placed closer to roads, making it much easier for linemen to reach in the event of a power outage.

“The old lines ran through the woods where they were difficult to get to and where they were much more prone to damage from trees,” said Rich Beasley, PPL’s regional community relations director in the area.

“When the project is complete, we expect any power outages to be shorter and much less frequent,” Beasley said.

This work is one of many projects designed to maintain and improve reliability across the company’s 29-county service territory. The company plans to invest more than $1.4 billion in improvements to its transmission and distribution systems over the next five years in central and eastern Pennsylvania, Beasley said.

Work began in early spring and is expected to be complete this fall, he said. When the new lines are in service, the old poles and lines will be removed.

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.