Jun 4, 2024 | Environment
Thanks to our environmentally conscious customers, Pennsylvania is now 5,000 trees richer!
Back in April, we ran a campaign to encourage customers to sign up for paperless billing in celebration of Earth Month. The premise was simple, for every customer that enrolled in paperless billing during the month, we’d commit to plant a tree within one of the many communities we serve thanks to our Community Roots Program. And we’re happy to report that we’ll be planting 5,000 new trees across our service territory.
Mature trees can absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, according to the Arbor Day Foundation. Which means these trees — thanks to our customers — will grow up and absorb more than 240,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of removing approximately 26 gasoline-powered vehicles from roads annually. With just one small change, you’ve helped the environment in a big way. Thank you to everyone who went paperless in April!
Our Community Roots Program, which began in 2017, provides native trees and pollinator-friendly plants and seeds that enhance the environment and help beautify the region. Since the program began, we’ve distributed more than 132,000 trees, shrubs and native pollinator-friendly plants across eastern and central Pennsylvania.
Learn more about our Community Roots Program, and all our environmental efforts, at pplelectric.com/environmental. And, if you haven’t enrolled in paperless billing yet, sign up today at pplelectric.com/paperless.
May 28, 2024 | Community Involvement
With the snip of a ribbon, the Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion is ready to open the doors to its 67,000-square-foot facility.
The Da Vinci Center had been housed at Cedar Crest College for the last 18-plus years, offering engaging learning opportunities through a series of exhibits. The new location in downtown Allentown offers twice the space, and twice the fun.
“I have been waiting for the moment when I can see kids, families and teachers interacting with the experience,” said Lin Erickson, Executive Director and CEO of the Da Vinci Science Center. “We’ve been working really hard to raise money and design exhibits, and it’s all about the impact and how the community engages with the experiences.”
A walk through the two-story center is a scientific adventure. There are numerous exhibits designed to teach visitors about topics that are relevant to our everyday lives – health, biology and the environment, to name a few – including one of our own.
Situated along the back wall on the first floor, our exhibit features an interactive lesson in how solar energy can power a home. Using light from the ceiling, visitors control a series of mirrors to reflect light on to a number of solar panels. Each panel powers a different room or appliance within the home, simulating how sunlight can charge our lives. Walking along the back wall, children and adults alike can read about the power of electricity, and some of the careers at PPL Electric Utilities that help keep the lights on every day.
“It’s been really fun working with local companies like PPL and tapping into their expertise to develop these exhibits,” Erickson said.
PPL has been a longtime partner with the science center, and we are thrilled to continue this relationship in a new space. We believe supporting a strong foundation in STEM education is critical to the success of today’s students and it helps create the highly skilled workforce of the future. We also believe this learning should be accessible to all.
“We want to encourage access to STEM programs for all students,” said Lissette Santana, senior manager of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. “One of our requests was to make sure that this world-class science center was accessible to the community; we want people who live and work in the area to come and enjoy this space, regardless of income.”
After 18-plus years at its old location, the Da Vinci Science Center is excited for fun and education at PPL Pavilion for generations to come.
“Thanks to PPL’s and many others’ support, we’ve built a science center for our children and grandchildren,” Erickson said. “And it will be right here in the Lehigh Valley; that is so cool.”
May 16, 2024 | Energy Future
We believe in and are charging toward a cleaner energy future. This goal means meeting new demands for connecting renewable energy, electric vehicles and other distributed energy resources to the grid.
It also means supporting our communities that are making the same pledge.
This spring, we were excited to take part in separate events welcoming electric school buses to the Bethlehem Area and Steelton-Highspire school districts. These buses were the first electric buses to be rolled out in their districts, and they are among the first in all of Pennsylvania.
In total, eight buses, two in Bethlehem and six in Steelton-Highspire, are ready for duty. To ensure the project’s success, we met with the districts to review charger locations and power requirements, determined infrastructure upgrades (if any), and ensured available capacity for when the buses arrived. The charging stations have been installed at each of the districts’ bus depots, allowing for convenient charging.
A closer look at the new chargers installed in the Steelton-Highspire School District.
We have not been waiting for this growth; we have been preparing for moments like these. Thanks to our investments in building a strong, flexible and modern grid, we were able to help in these projects without making any reinforcements to the grid.
We expect electric buses and other electric vehicles (EVs) to become even more popular over the next several years, and we’re staying engaged with our customers to help them understand how we can provide the support they need. We’ve created a webpage, pplelectric.com/EV, to help them make informed decisions about electric vehicles.
We believe electric vehicles are a viable, cost-effective and environmentally conscious means of transportation. We applaud the Bethlehem Area and Steelton-Highspire school districts for showing leadership in electrification, and we’re proud to help support electrification in any way we can.
Apr 11, 2024 | Storms and Outages
An incoming storm is expected to bring heavy rain and winds across our service territory beginning Thursday evening. The storm has potential to bring 40+ mph winds and up to 1.5 inches of rainfall. The rain is expected to taper off on Friday, but high winds are forecast through Saturday evening.
Our storm response includes:
- Activating storm teams with additional personnel working in the field, control centers and customer service across our territory.
- 16-hour shifts staggered for around-the-clock coverage.
- Bringing in more than 600 lineworkers from outside our company to assist in restoration efforts should they be needed.
As we continue to monitor the forecast and prepare for the storm, we’re offering the following tips and reminders to help customers prepare and stay safe.
Stay Connected:
- Report power outages online at pplelectric.com or text “Outage” to TXTPPL (898775).
- Follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram for restoration updates.
- Check the status of an outage as well as estimated restoration times online at pplelectric.com/outage.
- Sign up for alerts to stay connected and receive outage updates at pplelectric.com/alerts.
Get Prepared:
- Make sure mobile devices are fully charged before a storm event.
- Have an emergency kit with food, water, medication and any pet supplies needed.
- People who have medical conditions requiring electricity should create a plan in case of an outage or emergency.
- Check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance during an outage period.
Stay Safe:
- Should you encounter a downed wire at any time, assume it’s energized and stay away. Report downed wires to us or local emergency response agencies.
- If using a portable generator during a power outage, never operate the generator in an enclosed area, like a garage, where deadly carbon monoxide fumes could accumulate.
- Remember that candles can start fires. Always use flashlights instead.
- If you lose power, turn off any appliances that were on when the power went off.
- For your safety and ours, please keep a safe distance from our crews.
We will continue to update this page as more information becomes available.
Mar 7, 2024 | Safety and Security
Scammers continue to use sophisticated tactics to trick you into giving them money or your personal information. According to the Federal Trade Commission, people lost a record $2.7 billion to imposter scams, including utility imposter scams, in 2023.
We’re here to help equip you with the information you need to spot scammers and hang up on bad actors.
Here are some signs of potential phone scam activity to look out for:
- Threat to disconnect: Scammers may call or show up at your door saying that your bill is past due and will threaten to disconnect service if a payment is not made immediately.
- Request for prepaid card: You may be asked to pay with a prepaid debit card or with funds through a mobile app.
- Suspicious Texts: Calls aren’t the only form of phone scams. Scammers will also send text messages requesting personal information.
Scammers act quickly to put pressure on unassuming victims. Always remember:
- Slow down. Take your time. As part of intimidation tactics, scammers may press you to act quickly. Stop, slow down and end the conversation. Reach out to us directly to confirm and details mentioned during the conversation or the status of your bill.
- Verify. Scammers can spoof phone numbers making the call look like it is from PPL Electric, trick you with emails or pose as real employees in person. The best way to verify a claim is to log on to your PPL Electric account or set one up so you can check your bill status directly.
- Stop before you act. PPL Electric and other utilities will never demand payment by prepaid cards, cryptocurrencies or other methods.
If you sense suspicious activity, call us at 1-800-342-5775 or contact the local authorities. Scam awareness information is also available at pplelectric.com/scams.
Remember that anyone can be targeted at any time. Together, we can raise awareness and stop scams.
Thanks to our environmentally conscious customers, Pennsylvania is now 5,000 trees richer!
