PPL Electric Utilities receives national 'Most Improved Utility' award

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PPL Electric Utilities was recognized Wednesday (11/20) by PA Consulting as a recipient of the 2019 ReliabilityOne™ Most Improved Utility Award for its dramatic improvements in grid reliability over the past decade.

This award is presented to utility companies in recognition of notable sustained improvements in their effort to keep the power on. PA Consulting identified utilities that have exhibited the highest sustained levels in reliability in both duration and frequency over the past five years.

"We're honored to be recognized for the innovation and dedication that over the past decade has made the PPL grid one of the smartest and most reliable in the country," said Greg Dudkin, president, PPL Electric Utilities. "This is a tribute to the dedication and commitment of our employees to deliver for our customers who depend on us for safe, reliable electric service regardless of weather conditions. Our customers benefit from a top-performing and resilient grid and we continue to improve to meet the demands of a changing energy landscape that includes more and more renewable power sources, like solar and wind."

PPL Electric Utilities consistently ranks among industry leaders in reliability.

PPL's journey to increased reliability started a decade ago when it undertook a comprehensive study of its entire grid. From there, plans were developed to replace aging infrastructure, build new lines and substations to improve resiliency, implement smart grid technology, institute an improved comprehensive line clearance program and much more. Most recently, PPL has been honored for its development of a system to safely and automatically cut power to downed lines and for its Distributed Energy Resources Management System that allows better management of renewable power coming onto the grid.

The effects of PPL's grid reliability improvements include:

• Outages are down 30 percent compared to 2011
• Average availability for the past three years has been 99.99%
• Transmission-related outages are down 75 percent since 2013

All utilities operating electric delivery networks in North America are eligible for consideration for the ReliabilityOne™ Most Improved Utility Award.

The selection of provisional recipients is based primarily on system reliability statistics that measure the frequency and duration of customer outages. After provisional recipients are selected, each company undergoes an on-site certification process, which provides an independent review and confirmation of the policies, processes and systems used to collect, analyze and report a company's reliability results.

"Since 2000, PA Consulting's ReliabilityOne™ program has celebrated electric utilities providers that are reaching new heights of reliability," said Gregg Edeson, PA Consulting's ReliabilityOne™ Program Director. "This year we recognize a new category of top performers, the 'most improved' utilities in the U.S. PPL Electric Utilities has been on a journey to improve reliability via innovative technologies and people-led process improvement."

About PPL Electric Utilities

PPL Electric Utilities provides electric delivery service to more than 1.4 million homes and businesses in Pennsylvania and ranks among the best utility companies in the country for customer service and reliability. PPL Electric Utilities is a major employer in the communities it serves. It is a subsidiary of PPL Corporation PPL. For more information visit www.pplelectric.com.

About PA Consulting

We believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future in a technology-driven world. As strategies, technologies and innovation collide, we create opportunity from complexity. Our diverse teams of experts combine innovative thinking and breakthrough technologies to progress further, faster. Our clients adapt and transform, and together we achieve enduring results. An innovation and transformation consultancy, we are over 3,000 specialists in consumer, defense and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, and transport, travel and logistics. We operate globally from offices across the Americas, Europe, the Nordics and the Gulf. PA. Bringing Ingenuity to Life. For more information about PA Consulting, visit www.paconsulting.com.

PA's ReliabilityOne™ awards are presented to electric utilities providing their customers with the highest levels of reliability in the industry. PA's ReliabilityOne™ study is based on standard industry reliability statistics that measure the frequency and duration of electric power outages. ReliabilityOne™ participants on average experienced 53% fewer sustained outages, and outages were 41% shorter than the average US investor owned utility. PA has been analyzing electric utility performance since 1987. For more information about PA Consulting, visit www.paconsulting.com/energy.

Contact:  Joe Nixon, 610-774-5997, jcnixonjr@pplweb.com
                PPL Electric Utilities

SOURCE PPL Electric Utilities