JULY 2020

Using the power of technology to help businesses save

Social distancing guidelines haven't stopped our Business Services team from connecting with customers. Last month, we hosted three webinars to provide some helpful savings tips for businesses. Thanks to everyone who was able to join us!

If you weren't on the webinars, never fear. Here are a few tips that can save your business money during these unique times.

• Have you checked your electricity supply rate recently? It's important to compare rates often to make sure you're not paying too much for your power generation. Visit pplelectric.com/shopsmart to learn how to check your current rate, then go to papowerswitch.com to shop.
• One way to lower your bill is by conserving energy. Try the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager (it's a Google search away), a free online tool, to track and assess your energy and water use.
• You may qualify for an energy efficiency rebate to help you save. Visit pplelectric.com/businessrebates to see what we have available.
• Federal, state and local governments are offering temporary assistance programs to help businesses through the pandemic. We're compiling many of them at pplelectric.com/coronavirus-business.
• If you're struggling to pay your bill and would like to talk about options, give us a call. We're here to help. For small businesses, call 1-800-342-5775. For mid-size or large business, call 1-888-220-9991, option 4, or email us at businessaccounts@pplweb.com.

Do you want more tips and tricks? Stay tuned for announcements on upcoming webinars and information on how you can sign up. We look forward to talking with you!

Save energy and money. Visit pplelectricbusinesssavings.com.

There's never been a better time to go paperless

Have you signed your business up for paperless billing yet? If not, this is the perfect time to make the switch.

We just finished completely rebuilding our web registration process. It's easier than ever to set up an online account and go paperless.

Why go paperless? Let's count the ways:

1. It's cheap. With paperless billing, you can pay your bill online with a few clicks. That means you save on stamps, envelopes and – most importantly – time.
2. It's secure. You don't have to worry about a paper check getting stolen or lost in the mail. Plus, we use 256-bit encryption to keep your account information safe.
3. It's convenient. Pay your bill in seconds from the comfort of your own office.

Make the switch now at pplelectric.com/paperless.

Reliability milestone: one million outages avoided with our smart grid technology

The best power outage is one that never happens.

As of this summer, our customers have avoided one million outages since 2015 thanks to our smart grid technology. You don't know it, but you could be a part of this growing group.

In the past, when there was an issue on our system – maybe a tree branch fell on a power line during a storm, or an animal damaged equipment – the entire circuit, and every home or business on that circuit, would have lost power.

That's no longer the case. Our modern smart grid can detect a problem automatically and reroute power instantaneously. That keeps the outage area contained to the smallest possible footprint, meaning most customers never even know there was a problem in the first place.

In preventing those 1 million outages, our smart grid automated power restoration network has helped customers avoid 100 million minutes in the dark. Those minutes translate into a lot of time – more than 190 years.

Our smart grid network – a combination of state-of-the-art sensors, switches and advanced software systems – is part of significant investments we've made over the past decade. We've rebuilt aging power lines, added more storm-resistant wires and poles, implemented data-driven maintenance and replacement programs, and more.

Other initiatives, like our tree trimming and removal program, also are key to reliability improvements over time.

This is an example of innovation and investment leading to improved reliability.

Learn more at pplelectric.com/smartgrid.

Have a suggestion for a newsletter? Email us at connect@pplweb.com.