News Releases

PPL Montana has donated $50,000 to help low-income families who may have a hard time paying their heating bills this winter.

The donation was made to Energy Share of Montana, a statewide nonprofit energy assistance program.

An additional $40,942 in Universal System Benefits funds was donated to Energy Share by the owners of the Colstrip power plant: PPL Montana, Puget Sound Energy, Avista, NorthWestern Energy, Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp.

Universal System Benefits funds are contributions that companies can choose to designate to help ensure continued funding of low-income energy assistance programs, energy conservation and renewable resource projects.

“This donation will help heat the homes of about 225 Montana families,” said Rachel Haberman, executive director of Energy Share of Montana.

“In 2009 the federal energy assistance program was funded at $30 million; this year it was funded at $19.5 million. Over time, a 35 percent decrease like that is bound to take its toll on our lower-income neighbors who are struggling to keep up with their bills. This donation is an enormous help,” she said. “Since 2006, PPL Montana and its partners have played a significant role in helping our neighbors stay warm.”

“For many of our neighbors, staying warm during this long, cold winter has been a struggle,” said David Hoffman, director of external affairs for PPL Montana. “This combined donation from PPL Montana and the Colstrip power plant owners will help protect people in need during these tough times.”

Based in Helena, Energy Share of Montana is a private nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to help Montanans who don’t qualify for other programs or have exhausted that assistance.
-more-
Since its inception in 1983, Energy Share has distributed $15.2 million in energy assistance to more than 46,000 families. Energy Share is funded solely with private and corporate donations and usually is only available once in the life of the recipient. For more information on Energy Share, call 1-888-779-7589 or visit its website at www.energysharemt.com.

PPL Montana provides safe, reliable energy from coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL Montana and its 500 employees are dedicated to Montana and its communities, supporting educational, environmental and economic development programs across the state. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power for PPL Montana in wholesale and retail energy markets throughout the western United States. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL). More information about PPL Montana is available at www.pplmontana.com.