Apr 17, 2025 | Community Involvement, Energy Efficiency
Over 500 students participated in the annual Bright Ideas Energy Efficiency Student Poster Contest and 27 participated in the Think! Energy Innovation Challenge, presented by PPL Electric Utilities. Students designed posters and other creative projects to illustrate practical ideas for energy efficiency and sustainability.
Contest submissions came from students whose classes participated in energy efficiency presentations and hands-on activities. Topics and bright ideas from this year’s poster entries included recycling, efficient lighting, using solar power, turning off appliances when not in use and more.
Budding artists from kindergarten through 8th grade took part in the Bright Ideas Energy Efficiency Student Poster Contest. Along with highlighting environmental awareness, the artwork also earned accolades for several participants. Grand prize winners received a $100 gift card, plus a $100 grant for the teacher and a pizza or ice cream party for the class. Honorable mentions received a $25 gift card and a pizza or ice cream party.
The Think! Energy Innovation Challenge encouraged 9th through 12th grade students to create compelling video and artwork showcasing their ideas for water and energy efficiency. Teams of up to four students submitted their work, with the grand prize and honorable mention recipients each receiving wireless headphones.
Teachers emphasized the importance of sustainability education following this year’s event.
“Thank you to PPL Electric Utilities for offering this opportunity to my students,” said Ms. Nikki Giannaras from Hanover Elementary School. “They were very excited about the contest. A big congratulations to my student, Evy, on winning the Grand Prize!”
“The energy program was perfect to jump-start our class lessons on conservation and energy,” said Ms. Justine Taylor from Conestoga Christian School. “My students were excited to participate in the poster contest and were blessed to be awarded with a party when one of my students won an honorable mention. Thank you, PPL Electric Utilities, for all you do for our community!”
“I am beyond excited to share that one of my students, Cayden, was selected for an honorable mention in the PPL Electric Utilities contest!” said Ms. Nicole Szarka from Willow Lane Elementary School. “We had such an amazing time during the presentation, where my students and I learned so much about the energy industry, sustainability and how we can all make a difference. The hands-on experience and engaging activities during the visit truly inspired my students… It’s moments like these that remind me how much potential each of my students has to achieve great things.”
PPL Electric Utilities is proud to host the Bright Ideas Energy Efficiency Student Poster Contest and Innovation Challenge. Find the full list of winners below and enjoy their artwork here.
Looking for ways to find energy savings at home? Explore our getting started guide.
Poster contest pizza party at Drums Elementary School.
Poster contest honorable mention (Jacob) from Blue Mountain Elementary School.
Innovation Challenge grand prize winners (Solenne and Serafima) from Lancaster Catholic High School.
Innovation Challenge honorable mentions (Logan, Elani and Shelby) from Donegal High School.
Grades K – 2nd
Grand Prize: Liam (Ms. Melissa McGee; Drums Elementary School)
Honorable Mentions: Cayden (Ms. Nicole Szarka; Willow Lane Elementary School), Samantha (Mc. Jaclyn Tumolo; Lincoln Elementary School)
Grades 3rd – 5th
Grand Prize: Evelyn (Ms. Nikki Giannaras; Hanover Elementary School)
Honorable Mention: Jacob (Ms. Amanda Deal; Blue Mountain East Elementary School), Lila (Ms. Justine Taylor; Conestoga Christian School)
Grades 6th – 8th
Grand Prize: Lyla (Mr. Joshua Abrams; Springhouse Middle School)
Grades 9th – 12th (Innovation Challenge)
Grand Prize: Solenne and Serafima (Ms. Anne Bleistine; Lancaster Catholic High School)
Honorable Mention: Aidyn and Mitch (Mr. Mark Nebzydoski; Western Wayne High School), Logan, Elani and Shelby (Mr. Matthew Deller and Mr. Robert Swisher; Donegal High School)
Apr 16, 2025 | Community Involvement
We believe that education is vital for vibrant communities. That’s why we donate our time, energy and our know-how to help students and teachers in our neighborhoods. Through PPL Foundation grants, we are helping prepare today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders.
Community Services for Children (CSC) is a recipient of an Education Improvement Tax Credit grant. The organization is using this grant to help support its two “Innovation Labs” at its downtown Allentown location.
The labs provide a number of hands-on STEM learning tools and programs to help build thinking and collaboration skills for preschool-aged children in Allentown.
“CSC is about connecting families to the resources that they need,” said Deidra Vachier, CEO and president of CSC. “Many of the children that we serve, because they are some of our most vulnerable children have never had a preschool experience.”
Due in part to the opportunities provided by the labs, CSC says that kids’ test scores at the downtown Allentown location have been higher than other locations in the region.
“It supports everything that the PPL Foundation supports,” said Jane George, manager of government affairs and special projects at PPL Electric Utilities. “[The students] were engaged, they wanted to learn, and this is becoming their foundation for future learning.”
View the video below to learn more about the PPL Foundation, CSC and how these Innovation Labs are helping these young students learn vital educational skills.
Apr 9, 2025 | Community Involvement
Through the PPL Foundation’s Empowering Communities grants, we support local programs focused on education, environmental stewardship, economic development and/or workforce development. We believe that serving our communities means much more than just delivering safe and reliable electricity.
UPMC in North Central Pa. and Susquehanna Health Foundation are recent recipients of an Empowering Communities grant. The health system’s foundation is using this grant to support its nursing co-op program. The co-op graduated 11 local high schoolers on April 4 after 15 weeks of hands-on, real-world experience inside of area UPMC locations. The students come from Loyalsock, Williamsport, South Williamsport and Hughesville high schools.
We believe in supporting education and setting up students for long-term success in their careers. That’s why we have provided grants to Susquehanna Health Foundation since 2023.
“These students are getting the full experience,” said Alison Gower, program director for the co-op at UPMC Williamsport. “They work alongside the nurses and nurse aids, and work with patients on a personal level to help give them the care that they need.”
The student nurses rotate through several departments during the program, including the medical-surgical unit, emergency department, The Birthplace, Intensive Care Unit, rehabilitation, pediatrics, Operating Room and a unit of the students’ choice that they are most interested in learning more about. 
“This is something that most students don’t get to do when they’re in high school. It’s been an incredible experience,” said Abigail Lorson, a senior at South Williamsport High School. “I’ve learned that this job is about devoting yourself to the patients and making them feel as comfortable as they can be. You can’t learn this level of care in a book.”
“It’s really nice to have a program like this because it has given me a chance to try out a role before committing my career to it,” added fellow South Williamsport senior Alizabeth Schuler.”
The co-op is a paid program that gives not only hands-on experience, but a boost to the start of students’ college careers. And for those who do not pursue higher education, there are opportunities to work at UPMC after the program. Of the 44 students who have graduated from the program in the last five co-ops, 14 have been hired into care attendant positions.
“When I first started the co-op, I didn’t know where within the hospital I wanted to go,” said Michael Yoas, another senior at South Williamsport. “This showed me the areas that I liked and enjoyed, and I want to someday become a registered nurse.”
While providing care to the patients is the top priority of this co-op, it is providing clarity to the students and affirming that this career path is right for them.
“It has been everything I imagined and more; this experience clarified for me that this is what I want to do with my life,” Lorson said.
“We really appreciate our partnership with Susquehanna Health Foundation and UPMC,” said Jonah Howe, regional affairs director at PPL Electric Utilities. “This type of opportunity is so crucial to the future of healthcare and taking care of our communities, and this level of program is a perfect fit for an Empowering Communities grant.”
The latest batch of co-op students have now officially moved on from the program, but two more semesters of students will join the team next school year, beginning in the fall.
“Over the years, the students have all been very responsible and hardworking, and it’s so great to see their excitement,” Gower said. “We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from PPL, and we look forward to growing this program and educating these students.”
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 29, 2025 | Reliability
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we celebrate the many women here at PPL Electric Utilities who have paved the way, and those who are helping us create the utility of the future today.
One of the women currently helping power our business is Lycoming County native Katy Snyder, a field supervisor working out of our Pocono Service Center in Tannersville. A former lineworker, Katy is one of two female field supervisors across PPL Electric, and the only female field supervisor at her location.
In her role, Katy and her fellow field supervisor oversee the lineworker crews at their service center. There’s no shortage of duties throughout the day; viewing and assigning job sites, visiting crews in the field and gathering field observations are just a few of the day-to-day responsibilities.
“The days can get pretty busy,” Snyder said. “And at the end of the day, we try our best to look ahead and plan for the next because of the uncertainties of our work.”
Entering the world of line work is not a typical career path for women. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than five percent of lineworkers are women. But that’s where Snyder started her journey.
“Before PPL, I was working at a feed mill and I was the only female in the entire company,” she said. “And growing up with my dad as a farmer, I always found it satisfying to build things with my hands and see the end result – it felt good to know that I made something.”
A friend of hers suggested that she move on from the feed mill and get started on a new career path. As a lineworker himself he suggested giving it a shot, saying plainly that she would quickly know whether or not it would be the career for her.
“By the second day of line school, I knew this was for me,” she said. “Climbing poles, building lines and running trucks – this was it.”
And up into the air she went, beginning her career as a contractor before joining PPL Electric in 2021. Growing up inside of the service territory, she was familiar with the company and had family and friends who worked there. From the time she was a kid, she knew she wanted to work at PPL Electric in some way.
“I can remember going to a friend’s house in second grade and talking to their parents, who both worked at PPL in different departments,” Snyder said. “I’ve carried that conversation with me. And it was always my end goal to be able to help the people in my own community.”
After three years of line work at PPL, she was promoted to the field supervisor role. Now guiding multiple all-male crews of lineworkers, Snyder was also tasked with working at a new location with new colleagues.
“Initially, they were not sure what to think because they had only ever had male supervisors,” she said. “I thought it was important to be persistent in getting to know the team and understand them as people.”
She says that between she and her fellow supervisor, they’ve cultivated a family culture since teaming up a year and a half ago. Snyder believes leading her team begins with building morale and camaraderie.
“This line of work can be hard on home life,” she said. “These guys are working in every weather condition for long hours, while missing time, holidays and life events with their families to keep the lights on for our customers. We spend a lot of time together here at work, so I think it’s important to try hard to make their lives and their jobs safer and easier.”
But Snyder says, no matter the conditions, the crews know that their hard work is helping their communities.
“I can drive down the street during a storm, see an outage and know the person who is living in that house,” she said. “It gives us purpose knowing that we can keep the lights on for our customers, friends and families.”
