News Releases

PPL Electric Utilities recently finished rebuilding a nearly 14-mile transmission line between the Sunbury and Dalmatia areas in Snyder and Northumberland counties.

Construction on the $16 million project began in February.

The work will improve electric service reliability in the region by providing sufficient capacity to support the growing power demand in the region north of Harrisburg.

Reconstruction of the 69-kilovolt line started on the west side of the Susquehanna River in Snyder County, north of Selinsgrove, before crossing the waterway near Sunbury and heading south to the Dalmatia area. Installing the new line required access to an island in the river. A causeway and barge system was used to transport materials, equipment and workers to the island.

Existing 1960s-era H-frame wood poles were replaced with more than 100 single-shaft steel poles and new wire also was installed.

“Maintaining our transmission system to continue providing safe and reliable service for our customers is extremely important. Projects like this line reconstruction are evidence of our continued commitment to investing in our infrastructure and making our system even more reliable,” said Stephanie Raymond, vice president of Transmission and Substations for the utility.

The southern end of the rebuilt line will intersect with the planned Richfield-Dalmatia 69-kilovolt line when that line is built. The route for the about 11-mile Richfield-Dalmatia line was selected in early 2010 and the utility is currently in the process of acquiring the remaining property easements to be able to build and maintain the line.

The Richfield-Dalmatia project also will include construction of a new substation along the new power line south of Meiserville. The substation will create an additional source of power for communities that have been experiencing a high number of power outages.

PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), provides electricity delivery services to about 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania and consistently ranks among the best companies for customer service in the United States.