Joann Ornelas-Bauer has been appointed regional director-Operations for the Northeast Region of PPL Electric Utilities.

She is responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and reliable performance of the electric delivery system in parts of Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe counties, including the Scranton, Stroudsburg and Honesdale areas. This area has about 200,000 PPL Electric Utilities customers.

“Joann will play a lead role in our efforts to maintain and improve service in the region through increased tree-trimming and equipment inspections, enhancements to our delivery system, and new technology to speed response time in the field,” said John A. Fogarty, vice president of Distribution Operations for PPL Electric Utilities.

She succeeds Joseph M. Compierchio of Scranton, who was recently named director of emergency preparedness for PPL Electric Utilities.

Ornelas-Bauer has 20 years of experience in government and industry, including management positions of increasing responsibility at Exelon Corp. of Chicago, one of the nation’s largest energy companies, with about 5.4 million customers in Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Her responsibilities at Exelon included managing the day-to-day operations and administration of the electrical distribution system in a region near Chicago for Commonwealth Edison, an Exelon subsidiary.

Ornelas-Bauer holds a master’s degree in business administration from Pepperdine University in California and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of California at Davis.

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. More information is available at www.pplelectric.com.