Jun 29, 2025 | Safety and Security
Each year, approximately 40 million lightning strikes hit the ground in the United States and cause approximately six to 15 deaths in Pennsylvania, according to the National Weather Service.
While being struck by lightning is rare, it’s better to protect yourself and stay out of harm’s way when thunder and lightning are approaching. The general rule of thumb: when thunder roars, go indoors.
Electrical Safety Foundation International offers some other lightning safety tips:
- When you see lightning, count until you hear thunder. If that time is 30 seconds or less, the thunderstorm is within 6 miles of you and is dangerous. Immediately seek shelter.
- Do not touch concrete surfaces, including those in a basement or garage. Lightning can travel through the metal wires in concrete walls and flooring.
- Stay off corded phones and plugged-in electronics.
- Avoid plumbing and water, including bathing or doing laundry.
- Never seek shelter under trees, poles or other tall structures, as they are more likely to be struck by lightning.
Here’s what you can do to protect your property:
- Unplug appliances and other electrical items, such as computers and televisions, to prevent damage from lightning strike surges.
- Surge protection can help prevent damage to your electronics. There are two types of surge protection:
- Point-of-use surge protection – protects items directly plugged into the device from most electrical surges.
- Whole home surge protection – located at your main electrical panel or base of the electric meter. This device provides protection for your entire electrical system.
Jun 4, 2025 | Safety and Security
Do you know what to do if you’re involved in a vehicle crash involving power lines, or if you come across downed wires on the road?
PPL Electric Utilities wants to make sure you’re prepared for those scenarios and is now offering free electrical safety resources for drivers. Our new website – pplelectric.com/DriverSafety – provides tips, infographics and free teaching kits for instructors who teach young drivers. We’re also sending information to driver education teachers at schools across our 29-county service territory about how to order free instructional guides.
“The safety of our customers and our employees is our number one priority, and driving is an activity that most of us do every day,” said Doug Haupt, manager-Public Safety. “This is important information for everyone to have to help keep them safe when they are in or near an accident or downed wires.”
The website offers instructions for what to do when crashing into a utility pole, when you come across fallen power lines and how to do the “shuffle” if you need to get away from downed power lines. There is also a guide to teach power line safety in under 10 minutes.
We are also offering a free instructional kit with 20 power line safety cards for drivers brochures, 20 glove box cards and an instructional guide, all of which can be ordered here.
We encourage our customers to take advantage of these free resources.
And remember to call 911 and PPL Electric Utilities at 1‑800‑342‑5775 (1‑800‑DIAL‑PPL) immediately to report downed wires.
Jun 1, 2025 | Safety and Security, Storms and Outages
The arrival of the summer months brings about the inevitable threat of severe rain, wind and lightning, and those summer storms can cause power outages.
The work we do year-round – from upgrading and strengthening the equipment on our electric delivery system to trimming trees near our power lines to reduce the likelihood of tree and limb-caused outages – is designed to help ensure we provide you with the safest, most reliable power possible.
And the work we’re doing is making a difference.
In 2025, we’ve seen a 14% decrease in tree-related power outages and a 22% decrease in the total number of minutes customers are without power when compared to the same time last year.
Despite those efforts, severe storms can still cause power outages, so we want our customers to always be prepared. There are some simple, but important steps to take to stay safe and prepared. Here’s what you can do:
Before storms
- Have an emergency kit with food, water, medication and any pet supplies you may need in any outage or emergency at any time of the year. Store it in an airtight container.
- Make sure to have batteries and battery-operated flashlights readily available.
- If you have medical equipment that requires power, have a backup location to go to if you lose power.
- Sign up for PPL Alerts at pplelectric.com/alerts to make sure you receive power restoration updates when outages occur.
- Charge your phones and other devices when severe storms are imminent.
During storms
- If you lose power, please report your outage online at pplelectric.com/outage or text “Outage” to TXTPPL (898775).
- Remember that candles can start fires. If you lose power, use flashlights instead.
- If you encounter a downed wire at any time, assume it’s energized and stay away.
- If you lose power and are using a portable generator, never operate the generator in an enclosed area, like a garage, where deadly carbon monoxide fumes could accumulate.
- If you lose power, it’s a good idea to disconnect appliances and electronics during the outage to eliminate the risk of damage.
- Avoid opening your refrigerator and freezer as much as possible.
- Do not use ovens or ranges to heat your home.
- Unplug sensitive home electronics. Turn off ovens and space heaters that may have been on when the outage occurred.
- During extended outages, check with your local government about temporary shelters.
For more information on staying safe during storms and general electrical safety, visit pplelectric.com/OutageSafety.
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:
Jan 9, 2024 | Storms and Outages
Power outage? Text “outage” to “TXTPPL” (898775) or report it here.
Update: 1.10.24, 4:30 p.m.
As of 3:30 Wednesday afternoon, about 8,750 of our 1.5 million customers were without power. Since Tuesday afternoon, 65,000 customers have been restored from the original 73,750 customers without power.
We have brought in additional crews to supplement our efforts. Our crews began working Tuesday morning and will continue to work around the clock to safely and quickly restore power as soon as possible.
Update: 1.10.24, 10:00 a.m.
Storms caused widespread damage and power outages across our service territory Tuesday afternoon into the early morning on Wednesday. As of approximately 7:30 a.m., about 12,600 of our 1.5 million customers were without power.
Our crews began working Tuesday morning and are continuing to safely restore power to customers who are experiencing outages. We are bringing in additional crews to supplement our efforts.
Because of the scope of repairs, full restoration could take until Thursday for some customers, although many customers will get power restored sooner, as crews work around the clock to repair damage.
Continued wind could result in additional outages through this afternoon. We encourage customers to stay safe and report any outages.
Update: 1.9.24, 11:00 a.m.
An incoming storm is expected to bring heavy rain and winds across our service territory from Tuesday morning into Wednesday afternoon. We’re closely monitoring the forecast and are prepared to respond to storm-related power outages.
Our dedicated team is ready to respond to any issues that may arise, and we are bringing in additional workers to assist in any restoration efforts that may be necessary. We’ll work as safely and quickly as possible to assess damage and restore power to all customers who are impacted.
We’ll be posting updates on this page throughout the storm. You can adjust alert preferences to receive a phone call, text or email at pplelectric.com/alerts to stay informed during a storm. If you experience an outage, report it by visiting pplelectric.com/outage,texting “Outage” to TXTPPL or call 1-800-342-5775.
While we’ve prepared for possible outages, we want you to be prepared too:
- Charge your cell phones, portable chargers and other electronic devices so they’re ready to use in case of an emergency.
- Prepare or update your emergency kit with food, water, medication and pet supplies.
- Remember that candles can start fires. If you lose power, use flashlights instead. Now is a good time to check your flashlight batteries.
- If you have a portable generator, test it to make sure it’s working, but never operate it in an enclosed area, like a garage, where carbon monoxide fumes could accumulate.
- Assume any downed power line is energized. Stay clear by at least 100 feet and keep kids and pets away. If you see a downed power line, report it immediately by calling 1-800-342-5775 (1-800-DIAL-PPL).
