May 1, 2025 | Safety and Security
Staying safe around electricity is something we focus on every day as we work to deliver the most reliable power possible to our 1.5 million customers. We should also take that mindset home with us and make electrical safety a priority.
During National Electrical Safety Month, take some time to inspect electrical equipment and components in your home and make sure your home is free from electrical hazards. And if you do detect some safety hazards, consider hiring a qualified electrician to do an inspection and make any needed repairs or upgrades.
Here are some common electrical safety measures, including tips from the Electrical Safety Foundation International, that you can take around your house:
Extension cords
- Never use more than one extension cord and don’t overload the cords you do use.
- Make sure the extension cords you use are properly rated for their intended use and have been approved by an independent testing laboratory.
- Inspect cords before use. If you spot cracked or frayed sockets, loose wires or loose connections, discard and replace the cord.
- Don’t put staples or nails through cords.
- Don’t put carpets or rugs over cords.
Overloaded circuit warnings
- Flickering, blinking or dimming lights.
- Frequently tripped circuit breakers or blown fuses.
- Warm or discolored wall plates.
- Crackling, sizzling or buzzing in receptacles.
Power tool safety
- Use ground fault circuit interrupters with power tools to protect against shocks.
- Don’t use extension cords longer than 100 feet with power tools.
- Never use power tools near live electrical wires or water pipes.
- When working with electricity, use tools with insulated grips.
- Wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
Smoke alarms
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every floor.
- Test smoke alarms once a month.
- Replace smoke alarm batteries annually.
- Occasionally dust or lightly vacuum exterior of alarm to remove dust and cobwebs.
- Replace smoke alarms every 10 years.
Outdoor safety
- Contact 811 at least three business days before any digging project.
- Always identify potential overhead power lines before beginning any outdoor project.
- Carry ladders parallel to the ground to avoid contact with overhead power lines.
- Don’t use electrical equipment or extension cords in wet conditions or in the rain.
Additional resources
PPL Electric offers a variety of important electrical safety information and resources at pplelectric.com/safety. You can find resources for specific groups including:
Apr 11, 2025 | Community Involvement, Safety and Security
Teachers and students across the PPL Electric Utilities service territory are once again raving about the program that brought electrical safety lessons to more than 10,000 children during the most recent tour.
Local schools were treated to the half-hour performance by actors from The National Theatre for Children between March 24 and April 11. Nearly 178,000 youngsters have seen the program and have gotten valuable electrical safety lessons since PPL Electric started offering the free program to schools in its 29-county service territory a decade ago.
“I loved it,” a teacher at a participating school said. “The kids laughed, cheered and participated. It was super cute and a great way to learn and something that students will actually remember.”
Added another teacher: “They remembered so much from the program and were even talking about it days later. The students enjoyed the show and were very attentive.”
Hazard Heroes features Fiona Voltage, lead danger inspector for the Electri City Safety Department, who has been investigating multiple cases of electrical danger across town. Her boss, Erma Grouch, suspects Hazardous Hank and explains how electricity is used, how important it is for homes, businesses and schools, and how to stay safe around electricity and avoid dangerous electrical situations.
Schools receive supplemental digital education materials that include e-books, digital games and activities themed around the program so that teachers can discuss electrical safety with their students.
The program is designed to teach students what electricity is, the uses of electricity, identifying dangerous electrical situations and how to prevent electrical fires.
“It’s important that children learn the basics of electrical safety and these shows bring the messages home in a relatable way for kids,” said Doug Haupt, manager of Public Safety at PPL Electric Utilities. “What the children learn now could end up saving them from an electrical accident, or worse. Plus, they take great safety information home and share it with their families, so the safety lessons spread.”
Apr 8, 2025 | Community Involvement, Safety and Security
For lineworkers like Kyle Hammaker, the primary focus each day is to keep everyone safe at every work site and make sure everyone returns home each night the same way they arrived for work that day.
So it was no surprise that Hammaker’s protective instincts kicked in when he noticed someone who appeared to be in distress while he was traveling to a work site recently.
Hammaker, a PPL Electric Utilities employee for 13 years, was traveling along Route 230 in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, when he saw a man who appeared to be struggling while walking along the shoulder. After passing the man, he looked his rearview mirror and noticed he had fallen to the gravel-covered ground.
Hammaker immediately found a safe place to pull over and rushed to help. He soon determined the fallen man appeared to be injured and was barely breathing. While he was providing assistance, another passerby who stopped to help called 911 for an ambulance. Hammaker, who feared that the backpack the man had wrapped around himself may have been restricting his breathing, found a way to remove it.
“Throughout the situation, I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew this person needed help,” Hammaker said. “He was in and out of consciousness and I just wanted to be there for him to keep him calm.”
Within minutes, an ambulance arrived, as did a sister of the fallen man. She indicated that her brother was likely experiencing an epileptic seizure. The medics providing assistance quickly began giving the man the care he needed and transported him to a hospital.
Hammaker was grateful for the quick response by the medical team, not to mention the first aid training he’s received in the past.
Mike DiCicco, a PPL Electric Utilities field manager for the Harrisburg and Lancaster regions, praised Hammaker for taking swift, decisive action to help someone in need.
“Kyle is no stranger to taking responsibility during emergencies as he works on our daytime crew,” DiCicco said. “I am so thankful and proud that he stopped and took the action that he did. This act of service and kindness is a testament to Kyle’s character.”
Mar 30, 2025 | Reliability, Safety and Security
Trees and shrubs are a critical part of our environment and provide many benefits, from absorbing pollutants and cleaning the air we breathe to providing shelter and food for wildlife.
When adding trees to your landscape, it’s important to plant the right tree in the right place. Choosing trees that won’t grow into or fall onto power lines when they grow to their maximum height helps prevent tree-related outages. This generally means large trees should be planted at least 50 feet away from electric utility wires.
Large trees close to power lines can pose a threat, particularly during damaging storms, when branches or whole trees can fall and take down power lines and cause outages.
We’re committed to providing the safest, most reliable and most affordable power to our 1.5 million customers, and we work year-round to prune trees that can cause disruptive power outages. Customers can do their part by following the right tree, right place approach.
We don’t prune or remove trees on or beneath the service wire between your house and our utility poles. We can de-energize the wire and lower it to the ground for work to be done. Call us at 1-800-342-5775 at least five business days in advance of the work.
Here are some other things to remember when adding trees or other vegetation on your property:
Avoid planting trees and other vegetation near power lines when possible. Check out the graphic on the right for recommended spacing between trees and power lines.- Click here for a list of recommended tree and shrub species for planting near power lines.
- Plant tall-growing trees at least 50 feet from power lines.
- Don’t plant anything near neighborhood transformers.
- Call 811 at least three business days before digging to make sure the area is checked for underground utilities, including underground power lines. For more on safe digging, visit www.pa1call.org.
- Have qualified professionals prune trees near power lines. Contact with power lines can cause serious injury or death and electricity can “flash over” if someone gets too close.
- Visit the Arbor Day Foundation’s website (https://www.arborday.org/planning-selection-location) for additional resources and information about tree planting.
Feb 6, 2025 | Reliability
Nothing is more gratifying to Casey Rishel than knowing the work he does each day helps PPL Electric Utilities deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 1.5 million customers.
As a forester, Rishel plays a key role in balancing two important responsibilities: managing trees so they don’t cause power outages and protecting and preserving wooded areas.
He’s a member of a team of foresters that oversees year-round tree trimming and other vegetation work that helps keep power lines clear to prevent outages.
“During our storm response and routine maintenance, it’s very rewarding when you are able to explain to a customer the process that a tree crew is going to use to remove or trim trees,” said Rishel, who is based at PPL Electric’s Montoursville Service Center in Lycoming County. “Many times, it involves specialized equipment or unique methods of rigging.
“Making sure customers know what will be happening on their property or an adjacent property when tree crews do their work and making sure everyone in work areas stay safe are top priorities.”
Rishel, who was born and raised in Lycoming County and earned a forestry degree from Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, is a certified arborist and licensed applicator. He’s among the expert foresters on PPL Electric’s staff that work with line clearance-certified arborists to thoughtfully prune and remove trees along power lines and high-voltage power corridors.
Foresters work directly with line clearance-qualified tree contractors who do the work on a cyclical basis. Before any pruning or tree removal occurs, vegetation conditions are assessed based on each tree’s species, growth rates, distance from the lines and time since the last vegetation work was performed.
And when we do the work, our goal is to complete it in a professional manner, treat private property with care and remain sensitive to individual landowner concerns about vegetation management while doing the work that is needed to improve electric service reliability for all customers.
In 2024, our crews trimmed trees along more than 5,000-plus miles of roadways and rights of way and removed more than 13,000 trees identified as having the potential to cause outages for our customers.
For more information on our foresters, the line clearing work we do and planting and safety tips for customers, visit pplelectric.com/LineClearing.
