PPL Electric Utilities getting ready for storm

ALLENTOWN, Pa., March 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PPL Electric Utilities is preparing for potential power outages resulting from a predicted winter storm and is urging its customers to do the same.

All PPL employees — including hundreds of line workers, electricians and other skilled technicians — are ready to respond when needed.

PPL has secured 250 additional line workers from its sister companies in Kentucky, and from South Carolina, to help restore power to customers.

"We will work around the clock until all customers are restored to power," said Dave Bonenberger, PPL vice president-Distribution Operations. "We have been working for years to strengthen our system to reduce the number of outages in storms, and to help us restore power more quickly."

We've made our grid stronger and smarter to better withstand storms
Over the past 10 years, PPL Electric Utilities has invested $5.5 billion to make the electric grid more reliable and to make it stronger and more resilient during storms.

Since 2007, the company has:

• Installed smart grid devices at 4,000 locations throughout our 29-county delivery area to sense outages, report their location and enable quick rerouting of power, when possible, to restore customers more quickly.
• Removed and trimmed trees along 81,000 miles of power lines. Trees are the biggest cause of outages in storms.
• Inspected more than 709,000 poles, replacing and strengthening them where needed.
• Replaced 9,400 aging wooden transmission poles with stronger steel poles that can better withstand storms.
• Built 31 new substations to make the power grid more reliable and secure.
• Replaced 531 circuit breakers with more reliable equipment.

Stay safe and be prepared
Safety is always the top priority at PPL Electric Utilities. We urge our customers to make it their top priority as well, and to be prepared in the event of a prolonged power outage.

• Stay away from downed wires — always treat any wires on the ground as if they are energized.
• Keep generators far away from buildings and never operate them in an enclosed space like a garage.
• Prepare a storm kit — gather the supplies you might need for a prolonged outage, including flashlight, batteries, canned food, bottled water, medication and a first aid kit.
• Charge your cell phones, tablets and laptops.
• If you rely on medical equipment or have special personal needs, plan what you would do in the event of an extended power outage at your home.

More detailed information on staying safe in storms can be found on PPL's website at pplelectric.com/staysafe. More details on storm preparation, including the recommended contents of a storm kit, can be found at pplelectric.com/beprepared.

Get the latest information on power outages
Customers who want to be notified of power outages, estimated restoration times and other information can get alerts by email, phone call, text message or all three. Customers can manage their alerts preferences at pplelectric.com/outage.

Information on power outages also is available on the company's online outage map at pplelectric.com/outage. Customers can search by address to view outages at a particular location. The map also contains estimated restoration time and repair status — when that information becomes available.

Please note that exact estimated restoration times may not be available for some power outages until crews have had a chance to assess the damage. As soon as estimates are available, they will be posted on the PPL outage map and included in outage alerts.

PPL Electric Utilities provides electric delivery service to more than 1.4 million homes and businesses in Pennsylvania and ranks among the best utility companies in the country for customer service and reliability. PPL Electric Utilities is a major employer in the communities it serves. It is a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL). For more information visit www.pplelectric.com.

Note to Editors: Visit our media website at www.pplnewsroom.com for additional news and background about PPL Corporation.

Contact: Paul Wirth, [phone]
PPL Electric Utilities

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SOURCE PPL Electric Utilities

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