News Releases

PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) said Thursday (3/15) that the ongoing discussions among officials in Montana regarding electricity supplies in the state are not expected to have any effect on the company's earnings forecast for 2001 and 2002.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19981015/PHTH025 )

John R. Biggar, PPL's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said that the company's published earnings forecasts remain solid. "We remain confident that we will meet or exceed our earnings forecasts for this year and the next," said Biggar.

He also said that the company's earnings forecast for both 2001 and 2002 took into account the various price and supply scenarios in all of the markets in which the company does business.

"We are in regular communications with legislators and the governor's office in Montana as they attempt to ensure that The Montana Power Company is in a position to live up to its responsibility of supplying electricity to customers who do not shop for a new electricity supplier," said Biggar.

"We remain confident that Montana's leaders will find a way to address the supply concerns in a way that reflects the interests of consumers and encourages investment in new power facilities. The conservative assumptions of our earnings forecasts reflect a wide range of scenarios in each of the markets in which the company operates," Biggar said.

PPL Corporation owns about 10,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States. About 1,150 megawatts of that capacity is located in Montana.

Biggar said that PPL EnergyPlus, which markets electricity from all PPL power plants, is expected to be one of the bidders on a request issued earlier this week by The Montana Power Company for purchase of energy from the competitive wholesale market. MPC's request for power would replace the agreement between PPL and MPC when it expires in June of 2002.

PPL Corp. generates electricity at power plants in Pennsylvania, Maine and Montana; markets wholesale or retail energy in 42 U.S. states and Canada; and delivers electricity to nearly 6 million customers in Pennsylvania, in the United Kingdom and in Latin America.

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings, energy prices, supply, sales, margins and deliveries, operating costs, subsidiary performance, growth, project development, and generating capacity and performance, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corp. believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. The following are among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: market demand and prices for energy, capacity and fuel; weather variations affecting customer energy usage; competition in retail and wholesale power markets; the effect of any business or industry restructuring; the profitability and liquidity of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries; new accounting requirements or new interpretations or applications of existing requirements; operating performance of plants and other facilities; environmental conditions and requirements; system conditions and operating costs; development of new projects, markets and technologies; performance of new ventures; political, regulatory or economic conditions in countries where PPL Corp. or its subsidiaries conduct business; receipt of necessary governmental approvals; capital market conditions; stock price performance; foreign exchange rates; and the commitments and liabilities of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such factors and in conjunction with PPL Corp.'s Form 10-K and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19981015/PHTH025

PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467

SOURCE: PPL Corporation

Contact: Media: Dan McCarthy, 610-774-5758; or Investment Community: Tim
Paukovits, 610-774-4124, both of PPL, or Fax, 610-774-5281