More than 500 students across the region put their creativity to work in this year’s Bright Ideas Energy Efficiency Student Poster Contest and the Think! Energy Innovation Challenge, presented by PPL Electric Utilities. From colorful posters to inventive project submissions, students shared practical ways their communities can conserve energy and protect the environment.
Participants in both contests were students whose classes took part in hands‑on energy efficiency presentations. This year’s poster themes included recycling, reducing wasted electricity, choosing efficient lighting, the benefits of solar power, and simple everyday actions families can take at home.
Young creators from K–8 lead the way
Students in kindergarten through 8th grade submitted hundreds of posters to the Bright Ideas Energy Efficiency Student Poster Contest. The artwork highlighted students’ understanding of sustainability while also capturing their enthusiasm for conservation.
Grand prize winners earned a $100 gift card, a $100 teacher grant, and a classroom pizza or ice cream party. Honorable mention recipients received a $25 gift card and a class celebration as well.
This year’s teachers emphasized the lasting impact of sustainability education.
“My students and I would like to thank you for not only honoring us with a great celebration, but also inspiring them to make a difference in the world through energy conservation,” said Stacey Bottley, 2nd grade teacher at Drums Elementary. “Your program makes a difference in the choices they make. It provides them with the knowledge and opportunities to think first about their everyday actions.”
High‑school students innovate for the future
The Think! Energy Innovation Challenge invited 9th–12th grade students to create videos or artwork promoting water and energy efficiency. Teams of up to four students participated, and judges selected both grand prize and honorable mention winners. Each winning team member received wireless headphones.
PPL Electric Utilities celebrates the 2026 winners
PPL Electric Utilities is proud to continue supporting classrooms, teachers, and student innovators through these annual contests. Find the full list of winners below and enjoy their artwork here.
Poster contest pizza party at Drums Elementary School. Poster contest honorable mention (Julian) from Moscow Elementary School. Innovation Challenge honorable mentions (Jordan, Ari and Skylar) from Souderton Area High School. Innovation Challenge grand prize winners (Stella and Addisyn) from Susquenita High School.
Grades K–2
Grand Prize: Kaleesi (Ms. Stacey Bottley; Drums Elementary School)
On Friday, March 20, residents and commuters in downtown Dickson City witnessed an impressive sight: a 220-ton transformer making its way through Main Street on its journey to our Lackawanna substation.
This delivery was the first of seven scheduled transformer transports taking place between March and June as part of our ongoing reliability upgrades throughout our 29-county service territory. These major equipment upgrades are essential to strengthening the grid and improving long-term reliability.
In total, these deliveries will directly help improve reliability for 155,000 customers in our territory. The delivery through Dickson City alone will benefit over 36,000 customers.
Big accommodations for big deliveries
The sheer size of the equipment – roughly 25 feet long and 12 feet high – required a highly coordinated transport effort. Crews moved slowly through the downtown area on Friday afternoon, halting intersections and lifting utility lines where necessary to allow the oversized load to move safely to its destination.
While the move did cause some brief traffic delays, the operation went smoothly thanks to cooperation between PPL Electric, contractors, local officials and the community.
What does a transformer do?
Transformers are an important part of a substation. As electricity travels, it will head to substations, where transformers will increase or decrease voltage – think “transforming” – so that it can safely travel to its next destination.
The transformer heading to our Lackawanna substation will replace an older transformer to improve efficiency and reduce maintenance.
Bigger. Newer. Better.
With six additional deliveries scheduled in the coming months, customers will continue to see our investments in action. And if you see one of these transformers on the move (they’re hard to miss!), know that they’re helping move safer, more reliable power into your homes and businesses.
On Friday, Jan. 30, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company announced it will build a $3.5 billion injectable medicine operation — its first facility in Pennsylvania — in Fogelsville, Lehigh County. Electric service to the facility will be powered by PPL Electric Utilities. The investment is the largest life sciences investment in the history of Pennsylvania, and the largest investment of any kind in the history of the Lehigh Valley.
The Fogelsville site was one of four chosen nationwide out of 300 total applicants. The site selection process was competitive;Eli Lilly could have picked anywhere in the world to build its operations, but it chose our backyard, thanks in part to the capabilities of PPL Electric.
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks announcing a $3.5 billion investment in a new facility in the Lehigh Valley, where construction is expected to begin in 2026.
Communities may not always see us at work, but we are the energy backbone that allows businesses to grow and neighborhoods to thrive. There’s no denying that a reliable electric system is an economic asset.
Service you can trust
Companies expanding or investing in our territory depend on uninterrupted service, and they choose regions where the infrastructure can keep up with the pace of their businesses.
We have invested over $13 billion in our system since 2013, with nearly $7 billion more planned through 2028. These investments include automating our grid and replacing aging equipment with stronger poles and wires to ensure improved reliability for all customers.
We have streamlined our interconnection process to be one of the fastest in the industry. We provide businesses with high-level estimates in under 10 days, feasibility reports in a matter of weeks— not months — and often start construction in 6-12 months, pending regulatory approvals. This helps projects stay on schedule and give our service territory an advantage in economic development.
During the site selection, Eli Lilly was specifically looking for a region that could offer speed to market. Because of PPL Electric’s commitment to interconnection, more than 2,000 construction jobs and 850 permanent, full-time jobs are coming to our region.
Bringing life to life sciences
The Eli Lilly announcement is the latest in a string of life science investments in our service territory.
In December 2025, Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories unveiled a $147.5 million investment that will expand company operations in Lancaster County, creating 250 jobs and retaining over 3,000 more. And in October 2024, biopharma company GSK announced an investment of up to $800 million in Lancaster County, creating more than 200 jobs.
Powering the future
The desire for growth is on the rise in our region. Our location, abundant resources, strong reliability and streamlined interconnection process make Eastern and Central Pennsylvania an attractive destination for investment.We continue to invest in our system — not just for today, but for decades to come.
Highly skilled problem solvers and innovative thinkers are important to tomorrow’s workforce. That’s why, every year, we celebrate a group of local STEM teachers who dedicate their time toward helping make our future a brighter place.
This year, we selected five teachers to be recipients of our STEM Educator Awards. Each recipient is receiving $1,500 for classroom supplies. Since this program started in 2003, PPL Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in grants.
In addition to the awards, we’re recognizing each teacher for the positive impact they’re making on our students.
Douglas Brown
School: Central Columbia High School
Grade(s):9-12
Douglas has been a dedicated Agricultural and Environmental Science instructor at Central Columbia for 35 years, teaching courses about wildlife science, soil, horticulture, agricultural engineering and more. He has developed a curriculum focused on high-priority careers in agriculture and environmental science, helping instruct students on diverse career paths.His students recently won the 2025 Susquehanna Valley Regional Envirothon, further demonstrating how lessons learned in the classroom are making an impact beyond Central Columbia’s walls.
Colleen Cook
Grade(s): 6-8
Colleen has been a special education teacher at North Pocono since 2010, developing programs for students with autism and intellectual disabilities. She leads a program called The Brew Crew, a student-run coffee cart integrating STEM, communication and vocational skills.Funds from this grant will be used in part to further develop this program. In addition to her commitment to special education, Colleen has helped run several STEM fairs and events at the middle school.
Judean Finkenbinder
Grade(s): 5-8
Judean has been a teacher for 15 years, joining Susquenita in 2023. She is a dedicated STEM teacher at the middle school,weaving the Engineering Design Process into lessons to define problems and create solutions. Judean’s eighth grade students research and explore alternative energy sources and how they are used, creating wind turbines and measuring energy production.
Ross Gunderson
School: Eastern York High School
Grade(s):9-12
Ross has taught for over a decade across several levels of education and has been a physics teacher at Eastern York since 2023. His hands-on curriculumincludes artificial intelligence, helping students design 3D-printed rockets. Ross also serves as the advisor for the high school’s newly founded robotics club, creating additional learning opportunities for students and showcasing his passion for STEM outside of the classroom.
Adam Zeni
School: Ephrata Middle School
Grade(s): 6-8
Adam’s passion for STEM shows in the projects he leads at the middle school, including What’s So Cool About Manufacturing, where students partner with local companies to design videos highlighting modern manufacturing. He also mentors students in the NASA TechRise Student challenge, guiding them as they design experiments for flight aboard NASA-sponsored vehicles. These programs are just part of his daily commitment to supporting hands-on STEM education in Ephrata.
Congratulations to all this year’s winners — thank you for engaging the next generation of innovative thinkers. We wish you all a happy school year!
With the end of the 2025 calendar comes the end of the holiday season, a time filled with family, community and joy.
Throughout the year, and throughout the holidays, it’s the moments along the way — big and small — that fuel our passion to deliver safe and reliable power.
This holiday season has been a busy one for us in our communities, and we are grateful to have been able to take part in a few big events that bring joy and warmth to us all.
Lighting up the holiday in Allentown
There are few symbols more iconic during the season than the holiday tree. Our team had a blast taking part in downtown Allentown’s annual tree lighting ceremony in early December. From driving into Allentown’s ArtsPark in our decorated bucket truck to turning on the tree with the wave of a candy cane wand, the event featured everything that makes this time of year special.
Oh, and we forgot to mention Santa! We were even able to pull the big man in red away from his duties at the North Pole to take part in the festivities.
Setting the tree in Lancaster
You can’t light a tree if there isn’t a tree to light! That’s where we helped in Lancaster. To prepare the city for its lighting ceremony, our crews arrived at a home in nearby Millersville to pick up the annualholiday tree. The tree was then delivered to Penn Square in downtown Lancaster, where our crews used their equipment to safely set the tree for all to enjoy.
The gift of giving in Williamsport
Most recently, a team of PPL Electric volunteers around Williamsport headed to the local Salvation Army as part of its Red Kettle Campaign. Our volunteers helped local families pick out gifts for their loved ones and helped deliver the gifts and food items to residents’ vehicles and homes.
These are events we take part in every year to help make our communities a little brighter during the holiday season. And while we always look forward to helping lend a hand this time of year, we also look forward to helping power the little moments of magic that happen throughout the year.
PPL Electric Utilities wishes you all a safe and joyous end to your holiday season, and we look forward to delivering for you in 2026.
