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, (610)
774-5997
PPL Electric Utilities
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ppl-electric-utilities-getting-ready-for-storm-300422524.html
SOURCE PPL Electric Utilities