JULY 2020

Reliability milestone: one million customer 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.

Save energy and money. Visit savewithppl.com.

Need help paying your bill? Now's the time to act.

If you need some help paying your bill – or you're worried about falling further and further behind – now is the time to act. There are programs available to ease your burden.

• The federal LIHEAP grant program has reopened for a limited time this summer. It provides direct grants to help you with your energy bill.
• OnTrack is a payment plan that offers debt forgiveness and a lower fixed monthly payment.
• Operation HELP is a PPL fund that provides grants to help with energy bills.
• Budget billing smooths out your monthly bills so they're more predictable.

We can also set up a special payment arrangement to help you get ahead, or you can change your billing due date to better fit your income schedule.

If you need help, reach out. We'll work with you.

Visit pplelectric.com/billhelp for more details on these programs or to see if you qualify.

How does an extra thousand bucks sound? Go paperless today for a chance to win.

Have you signed up for paperless billing yet? If not, this is the perfect time to make the switch. We're giving away $1,000 to one lucky paperless customer. Plus, with our new web registration process, it's never been easier to set up an account on pplelectric.com. 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 couch.

Once you set up your online account, you can access tons of other features (and we're adding more all the time). You can also sign up for automatic bill pay, check your usage, apply for energy efficiency rebates and much more.

All residential customers who are enrolled in paperless billing by 11:59 p.m. on August 14, 2020, will be automatically entered in the drawing for $1,000. Check out the official contest rules, and go paperless now at pplelectric.com/paperless.

Powering through together

In July, the country celebrates Lineworkers Appreciation Day, but at PPL we celebrate our employees every day. It's been quite a few months. Our dedicated men and women have been working day and night despite the unique challenges posed by the pandemic. Through blue skies and storms, they've been there.

We want to take this opportunity to say a big "thank you" to our lineworkers from IBEW Local 1600 – and to all PPL employees across central and eastern Pennsylvania – for everything you do every day to keep the lights on for our customers!

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