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ALLENTOWN, Pa., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PPL Electric Utilities crews will be working steadily to restore electric service after an ice storm left damage that knocked out power from west of the Susquehanna to the Lehigh Valley.  

As of noon today, PPL Electric Utilities said it has restored power to nearly 40,000 customers affected by the damage. The company still is dealing with widespread outages involving 24,000 customers across its system, about half in the Lehigh Valley.  Due to the large number of trouble cases – about 440 incidents involving customer outages systemwide – the utility expects its restoration efforts to continue through Thursday.

PPL Electric Utilities said it mobilized more than 400 company and contractor crews to restore power across PPL's 29-county service area. The utility has made steady progress restoring power, although new outages continue to be reported.

"Even though the weather has cleared up a bit, high winds later today could cause more tree limbs to fall, triggering new outages through tonight," said David Bonenberger, PPL's director of system emergency and general manager of transmission operations. "We've got our crews working around the clock in difficult conditions, and a small number of customers may experience outages that linger into tomorrow."

PPL Electric Utilities asks its customers to report any outages as soon as possible by calling 1-800-DIAL-PPL (1-800-342-5775) or online at www.pplelectric.com/outage. In addition, PPL has activated its Twitter account to provide updates. Customers can sign up for updates at www.twitter.com/PPLStormTeam.  

"Our first priority is restoring power for our customers and ensuring the safety of our work crews," said Bonenberger. "We also want our customers and their families to stay safe in the event of an outage."

If customers lose power, they should remember the following tips:

• Be watchful of any downed lines and stay away, assuming any power lines are energized.
• If you have a generator, run it in a well-ventilated area, never indoors. And keep it away from vents that can draw its exhaust gas back into the house.

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.

SOURCE PPL Electric Utilities