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BERWICK, Pa., Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Operators at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant reconnected the Unit 2 reactor to the electrical grid Monday (9/15).

PPL Susquehanna decided to shut down the generating unit for inspection based on data from the extensive vibration monitoring equipment installed on the turbine, which indicated that a few blades had potentially developed small cracks.

With the unit shut down, workers performed an inspection and replaced one row of blades, although only a small number were found to have indications of cracking. Workers also performed additional maintenance activities that can be done only when the unit is not operating.

PPL Susquehanna installed newly designed blades on the Unit 1 turbine earlier this year that have significantly reduced blade vibration, which is believed to be a primary contributor to cracking. Based on Unit 1 blade performance, PPL Susquehanna is preparing to install similar blades during the next scheduled Unit 2 refueling and maintenance outage in the spring of 2015.

The Susquehanna plant, located in Luzerne County about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by PPL Susquehanna.

PPL Susquehanna LLC is one of PPL Corporation's generating affiliates. PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), with 2013 revenues of $12 billion, is one of the largest companies in the U.S. utility sector. The PPL family of companies delivers electricity and natural gas to about 10 million customers in the United States and the United Kingdom. PPL recently announced an agreement to combine its competitive generation business with the competitive generation business of Riverstone Holdings LLC to form Talen Energy Corporation, a highly competitive independent power producer. More information is available at www.pplsusquehanna.com and www.pplweb.com.

Note to Editors: Visit our media website at www.pplnewsroom.com for additional news and background about PPL Corporation.

Contact:  Miriam Mylin, 1-866-832-4474, mmmylin@pplweb.com, PPL Susquehanna

SOURCE PPL Susquehanna