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With the arrival of summer this weekend, PPL Electric Utilities customers will have reliable power to stay cool and comfortable during the hot and stormy months ahead.

Across its 29-county service territory, the company is installing smart grid equipment, building new power lines and substations and trimming more trees to strengthen its system to meet summer demand and the expectations of customers.

PPL Electric Utilities’ job is to keep reliability strong, so customers can enjoy the activities of summer with friends and family and stay cool and comfortable.

PPL Electric Utilities works year-round to inspect and maintain its electric delivery system, which includes almost 400 substations and almost 50,000 miles of power lines. This work is especially important in the months leading up to summer and winter, the periods of peak electric demand among the company’s customers.

Every year the company also completes visual patrols and infrared thermal inspections of its overhead distribution lines as part of its overall maintenance program. With 33,000 miles of aerial distribution lines, PPL Electric Utilities scans portions of its system to identify needed maintenance before summer. Animal guards and lightning protection equipment are also installed to prevent service interruptions.

Customers benefit from the company’s strong focus on reliability. The average duration of power outages was down by 11 percent last year, and tree-related outages were down by 43 percent. Trees too close to power lines are a major cause of outages for customers.

Customers are also benefitting from the addition of smart equipment around PPL Electric Utilities’ service territory. The technology detects power outages faster and reroutes power to restore customers even before repairs are made.

Since 2012, our customers have experienced 38 percent fewer outages in areas where smart grid is deployed and 41 percent less time without power.

During the late May storm that affected the Lancaster-Harrisburg area, customers with smart grid experienced faster restoration times than other customers. PPL Electric Utilities installs more smart grid equipment every year to improve service to customers across its system.

PPL Electric Utilities is ready for summer and focused on providing safe and reliable service now and throughout the year — all at a reasonable cost to customers.

PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), provides electric delivery services to about 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania and has consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. More information is available at www.pplelectric.com.