Nov 19, 2021 | Environment
We’re committed to preserving the environment in everything we do. Whether our employees are in the office or out in the field, we’re always thinking of innovative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle common materials.
Every day, we receive numerous shipments of fragile materials that are wrapped in clear plastic to help keep the items secure. Thanks to our employees at the Lock Haven Service Center, who initiated a new program, we’re making sure that plastic is recycled.
Through this program, employees recycle plastic by placing it in large bins in their service center. As an incentive for collecting 500 pounds of recyclable materials, Trex®, a manufacturer of wood alternative products, will provide us with a Trex® bench that we’ll be donating to a local park!
Our goal is to collect enough plastic for a Trex® bench in a local park in every region of our service territory. To date, we have collected over 400 pounds of materials and expanded the program by placing bins in three other service centers in the Susquehanna region including Sunbury, Bloomsburg, and Montoursville.
Stay tuned for our progress!
Oct 29, 2021 | Community Involvement, Environment
From August through October, our Community Roots Program made its way across PA.
Our employees visited events, like baseball games, throughout our service territory, to deliver free plants and seeds to our customers. Their mission: spread the word about pollinators and how important it is to protect and preserve the environment we all love.
Along the way, they met a few plant enthusiasts, environmental champions, and captured some great moments.
Check them out!
In Williamsport, Chris Stamatedes, PPL Electric’s Regional Director of Operations, threw out the first pitch at the largest attended Crosscutters baseball game of the season!
We also visited one of the coolest spots in the area for First Friday- The Lancaster Science Factory.
And we couldn’t miss an Iron Pigs game at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown!
We spent a beautiful sunny day at the Newfoundland Farmers Market and donated more than 250 mint plants to our friends in the Northeast region.
At the Forks Farmers Market in Orangeville our volunteers arrived in style with our electric vehicle. They spent the day talking with customers about how we plant pollinators in our right-of-way areas.
We passed through Schuylkill County and set up a booth at the Hometown Farmers Market. There, customers had the opportunity to package their own native pollinator seed mix to plant at their homes.
Did you pick up a mint plant or pollinator seeds at one of our recent events? Post pictures of your planted pollinators on Facebook. Tag PPL Electric Utilities, and use the hashtag: #MyPPLPollinatorPatch.
And if we missed you this season, don’t worry- we’ll be back! Follow us on social media for upcoming Community Roots pop-ups!
Oct 22, 2021 | Environment
The work we do goes beyond delivering safe, reliable and affordable electricity to our customers. We’re here to be a true community partner and preserve the environment we call home.
Our team in Lancaster County recently completed a large construction project to replace a 100-year-old transmission line that runs through Kelly’s Run Preserve, a popular local destination for walking and hiking owned by the Lancaster Conservancy.
We know how important this trail is to the community, so we worked closely with Lancaster Conservancy to minimize the amount of time the trail was closed during construction.
Along the way, we identified an opportunity to expand the Conservancy’s pollinator meadow by two and a half acres by planting a pollinator-friendly seed mixture in our right-of-way. This cost-effective, seed mixture is something we at PPL have been testing and exploring in our right-of-way areas.
The future is buzzing — and you too can assist our pollinator friends by creating your own pollinator-friendly habitats at home. Learn more about our pollinators and how you can help by clicking here.
Sep 30, 2021 | Energy Efficiency
Since 2009, our customers have saved 4,026,933,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. To put that into perspective, that’s the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of:
- Removing 620,000+ passenger vehicles from the road for an entire year
- Charging 347,145,834,418 smartphones
- Operating 594 wind turbines for a year
- 970,686 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled
- 343,666 homes’ energy use in a year
The Difference Customers Like You Have Made
For the past 12 years, our customers have cut electricity usage by over 4 billion kWh by participating in our energy efficiency programs—that’s savings of more than $403 million in energy costs. Wow! Check out these big stats worth celebrating:
- 24,000,000+ energy-efficient light bulbs were purchased
- 143,000+ appliances were properly recycled
- 71,000+ energy-efficient devices and appliances were installed in local businesses
Energy Efficiency Means Peace of Mind
Taking the time to make the right decisions about your home’s appliances, air quality, and heating and cooling systems goes a long way. When your home is more energy efficient, it means you’re in control of your costs and your comfort. Whether you’re upgrading to ENERGY STAR® certified appliances or being mindful of your day-to-day acts, like shutting off lights, it all adds up—benefiting your family’s comfort, your savings, and the planet.
Celebrate With an Energy-Efficient Rebate
When it comes to major home endeavors like insulation or upgrades to heating and cooling systems, you can save hundreds with our rebates and incentives. In addition, Pennsylvania offers residents financial incentives and tax credits on upgrading your home’s energy efficiency.
For more tips to help you save energy, visit savewithppl.com.
Aug 18, 2021 | Community Involvement, Environment
When you’re nearly four decades into teaching school children about the environment –and getting them to think critically about it – you have to be doing something right.
And, certainly, Pennsylvania Envirothon, through its annual competition for high school students, has built a reputation for educating youngsters in creative, innovative ways. And for inspiring a national competition.
It’s why the PPL Foundation has supported the organization for a quarter of a century. Most recently, we gave $4,800 to Envirothon in 2020 to help the nonprofit train coordinators for the annual event, which is a hands-on, natural resource problem-solving competition.
The event began in 1979 as a local competition for a handful of conservation districts and evolved into a statewide competition in 1984. It has remained a constant in Pennsylvania education since. So much so that the organization kept the tradition going with a virtual event during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program reaches more than 40,000 students each year.
Teams of five representing schools from across the state study natural resource categories, such as soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and current environmental issues. Each team spends time before the competition with their advisors to prepare. At the competition, they use teamwork to come up with solutions to environmental problems. This year’s champion – Pleasant Valley High School from Monroe County – moved on to the international event in Nebraska.
Ultimately, Envirothon’s goal is to develop knowledgeable, skilled, and dedicated youth who are willing and prepared to work towards achieving a balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment. And that’s something we’re proud to support.
