environment Archives - Page 2 of 5 - People Powering Life

Powerful Pollinator Partnerships

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.

October is National Energy Awareness Month. Let’s celebrate what you’ve helped achieve!

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.

Challenging kids to think and live greener

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.

Reviving a popular nature area

Jul 6, 2021 | Community Involvement, Environment

A popular Union County nature area enjoyed by hundreds each year is getting long planned and much needed improvements with a little help from PPL.

Koons Trail along Buffalo Creek in Mifflinburg, originally created by Mifflinburg Middle School teacher Joe Southerton and his students in 1990, is getting new kiosks, footbridges and platforms.

The trail was hit hard by the emerald ash borer, a beetle that feeds on ash trees, and was damaged by previous flooding.

Merrill W. Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy, a Lewisburg-based nonprofit, holds a conservation easement on the trail and maintains it. We granted $3,500 from the PPL Foundation to help fund the improvement project. The upgrades will help the conservancy draw the public to the site and ultimately serve its mission of getting families outside to learn about the environment.

The PPL Foundation contributes more than $3 million annually to nonprofit organizations supporting student success from cradle to career; advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; and promoting the development of vibrant and sustainable communities.

“We are sincerely grateful to PPL,” said Geoff Goodenow, the organization’s coordinator. “The funds from PPL will help to create much needed footbridges along the paths which meander within restored wetlands south of the covered bridge. Visitors to the area enjoy seeing wildflowers, various types of birds and hearing a seasonal chorus of amphibians.”

Each year, hundreds of people participate in programs held in the trail area along with the incalculable number of local residents who visit daily.

The trail is on part of a 30-acre property once owned by Mifflinburg resident and businesswoman Mary Koons. Current owners Ryan and Samantha Sabo have expanded access to the property by creating additional walkways in adjacent wetland meadows and fields. The area is private property but is open to the public from dawn to dusk for people and pets.

The Merrill Linn Conservancy is a 501c3 nonprofit. Its mission includes preservation/conservation of the natural resources and beauty of land and waterways and to engage the public in creating awareness and instilling responsible stewardship of our resources.

Improving reliability & feeding Tatu

Jun 24, 2021 | Environment

Each and every year, we conduct tree trimming throughout our service territory to help maintain reliable service and prevent outages. While getting the customers the power they need is certainly our main focus, one of the unique benefits of successful tree trimming is feeding animals like Tatu, the giraffe, at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.

Instead of ending up in a chipper, the smaller branches and tree debris we collect through our vegetation management program are donated to help feed the animals. Tatu, and his other leaf-loving friends at the zoo, can enjoy this especially delicious fare that assists in keeping the animals’ digestive systems running smoothly.

Trees are the number one cause of storm-related power outages, which is why we have an established time-and-condition based maintenance program to make sure we’re trimming trees at the right time.

In 2020 alone, we reduced tree-related outages by 14 percent from the prior year. This work is essential to keeping the lights on and great for curbing Tatu’s appetite.

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