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Nearly 117,000 PPL Electric Utilities customers have already selected a competitive electricity supplier for the power they will need in 2010.

With suppliers offering money-saving deals, PPL Electric Utilities hopes even more will give electric choice a closer look.

“We want our customers to find the best deal they can for electricity supply,” said David G. DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities. “That’s what electric choice is all about. Customers may choose a competitive supplier at any time, but the earlier they switch, the sooner they can begin to save money in the new year.”

DeCampli said the new options have fueled intense interest throughout central and eastern Pennsylvania. More than 97,000 of the customers who have switched are homeowners and renters.

“I’m often asked why PPL Electric Utilities would encourage customers to shop,” he said. “The answer is simple. We don’t make the electricity you buy. We deliver it. In that way, we’re not competing with suppliers, and it doesn’t hurt us if you buy power from another company.”

PPL Electric Utilities only gets involved with generation supply when customers don’t choose their own supplier, DeCampli said. In that case, state law requires the company to buy power on customers’ behalf and pass the costs through without profit. The company has contracts already in place to buy power for customers in 2010 from 11 suppliers based in eight states.

“The average price we pay these suppliers is the price you pay if you don’t shop,” he said. “But by buying directly from the supplier, you may get a better deal. Customers should explore all of their options and do what’s right for them.”

In evaluating offers, customers should compare PPL Electric Utilities’ “price to compare” with the supplier’s price, DeCampli said. The company’s 2010 “price to compare,” which includes both generation and transmission charges, is rounded to 10.45 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers. If a supplier charges less, customers can save.

The price to compare does not include distribution charges, which cover PPL Electric Utilities’ costs to deliver your power. These costs are the same regardless of whether you shop.

“It’s easy to switch,” DeCampli said. “And no matter what you choose, we’ll continue to deliver your power safely and reliably. You won’t notice any difference in the level of service we provide.”

He said residential customers can visit the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate Web site at www.oca.state.pa.us or call 1-888-668-4775 to learn more about supplier offers. Business customers can visit www.puc.state.pa.us for a list of licensed suppliers.

Customers can also learn more by visiting www.pplelectric.com/choice or www.pplchoiceanswers.com.

PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), provides electric delivery service to 1.4 million customers in 29 counties of eastern and central Pennsylvania and has consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. More information is available at www.pplelectric.com.