Reliable service through innovation and invention
Reliability means you can be confident that when you flip the switch, your lights will come on.
It means that if a storm knocks out your power, our smart grid will react to limit the size of the affected area and reroute power to get your lights back on quickly while we make repairs. Sometimes that outage will be so short you won’t even realize it happened.
Here’s a peek at a couple of industry leading innovations that are keeping our grid reliable for you.
We recently received patents for innovations designed to increase reliability. The purpose of our patents – to benefit our customers – is what makes us most proud.
One of our patents was for work that allowed older grid equipment to help reroute power and keep the lights on in the early days of our smart grid rollout.
We continue to replace this older equipment, and the system we developed continues to boost reliability.
Another patent is for a device that increases the lifespan of our poles by allowing other attachments, like phone and cable wires, to be attached without drilling nearly as many holes in the pole. That helps poles last longer.
We’re always looking for innovative ways to improve your service at the right cost. That’s PPL value.
Ask Meg
I have an old refrigerator in my garage. Are you still doing the appliance recycling program?
Yes. The program is up and running. But, like most everything these days, we’re doing it a little differently. At this point, we’re offering contactless collections of functioning refrigerators or freezers. If you can move your appliance outside safely, we’ll be happy to pick it up and recycle it responsibly. We’ll even mail you a $35 check as a thank you. Please, only schedule a contactless collection if you can move your appliance safely. Schedule a pickup at pplelectricsavings.com.
Building Budding Readers
We recently took our Cover to Cover program to the Lock Haven YMCA Childcare site to give free books to their Pre-K classrooms. It’s the latest in our efforts to give elementary school students the tools they need to hone their reading skills at home. Last year, we provided books to more than 200 students in northeast and central Pennsylvania.
In all, we’ve reached nearly 30,000 students and distributed more than 115,000 books through our Cover to Cover program since it launched in 2016.
Electrical safety performance reaches major milestone
Our electrical safety theatre program has reached quite a milestone: Since 2015, more than 100,000 children have checked out the performance and learned how to stay safe around electricity.
The show, which we run along with The National Theatre for Children, teaches youngsters how electricity is made and helps them identify and avoid dangerous electrical situations.
The performances are free for schools. They're typically held on site, but we adapted in 2020 to take the performances virtual. Despite the pandemic, more than 8,000 kids have benefited from the shows since October. We like to think of it as teaching safety, safely. Learn more about our public safety commitment at pplelectric.com/safety.
Trees and power lines don’t mix
Keeping trees away from power lines is important to keep your service reliable. Trees or tree branches contacting power lines remain the top cause of storm-related power outages. Each year, we work on about 8,000 miles of power line right of way to make sure trees and other plants are trimmed or removed to eliminate conditions that could lead to an outage. That’s a lot of miles, enough to make nearly 48 round trips between Allentown and Harrisburg!
Overdue balance? We can help.
The year 2020 is over, but the challenges it brought are still here for many of us. If your PPL account is overdue, we can offer you some relief.
Payment agreements available to everyone
- With a flexible payment agreement you can pay down your balance over time. Make monthly payments on an agreement and protect your account from collection activity.
- Would a more predictable monthly bill help you manage your finances? Sign up for budget billing and you’ll always know what to expect.
Assistance programs based on income
- Our OnTrack program offers debt forgiveness and lower monthly payments.
- Need help keeping your home warm this winter? The federally funded program, LIHEAP, offers grants of up to $1,800 based on your family’s income.
- Every year, a great deal of LIHEAP and OnTrack money goes unclaimed, so apply today.
For information on all the ways we can help with your family’s electric bill, visit pplelectric.com/billhelp.