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YOU DEPEND ON US. WE DELIVER.

AUGUST 2020

masked employee using hand sanitizer at work

COVER STORY

Prep your business for health and safety before returning to work

We're all hoping that businesses can get back to work as soon as possible. Here are a few tips, courtesy of Questline, to re-open your office building safely. Consider it your brief guide to the new normal.

  • Start by doing a thorough hazard assessment to identify potential hazards that could increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Begin with work and common areas where employees could have close contact with one another (break rooms, restrooms, meeting rooms, etc.).
  • Modify or adjust seats, furniture and workstations to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet between employees.
  • Where social distancing isn't possible, install transparent shields or other physical barriers to separate employees.
  • Make sure adequate supplies of hand soap or hand sanitizer are readily available, and remind employees to practice proper hand hygiene.
  • Arrange reception and other communal seating areas by removing or spacing chairs and tables to maintain social distancing.
  • Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots and water coolers, with pre-packed, single-service alternatives.
  • Improve ventilation by increasing the supply of outdoor air to occupied spaces.
  • Regularly clean and disinfect all high-touch surfaces, such as keyboards, phones, office equipment, water fountains and doorknobs.
  • Require employees with COVID-19 symptoms or a sick member of their household to stay home.
  • Stagger shifts, start times, and break times to reduce the number and density of employees in the workplace and common areas.
  • Require employees to wear face masks while moving about the building or visiting common areas.
  • Educate your employees about the risks associated with the COVID-19, as well as all workplace guidelines and requirements.

Safety guidelines are evolving. For the latest information, check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Ask Marilyn

Question
I noticed drones flying around the distribution lines by my business. What are they up to?

Answer
Glad you noticed! At PPL, we're always looking to push the envelope, working to find innovative ways to improve reliability and safety. Drones are one of our newest innovative techniques to do just that. We use drones to help inspect power lines and identify potential issues before they cause an outage. It's efficient, and it's safer because it keeps employees farther away from energized power lines. Drones are always controlled by a certified pilot, and we only fly them between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Thanks for the question!

Marilyn smiling

Save energy and money. Visit pplelectricbusinesssavings.com.

Staying safe so we can keep your lights on

We've been looking out for our customers throughout this pandemic, but we've also been keeping our PPL colleagues safe. After all, we need to make sure our team is healthy to keep monitoring the grid, responding to storm damage, and responding to your questions and needs.

Here are just a few ways we've been keeping our PPL team safe as we all persevere through this pandemic.

Social distancing. When our employees are in the field, they're practicing safe social distancing. You can help us out. If you need to speak with one of our workers, please stay at least 10 feet away at all times.

Wearing masks. All of our employees and contractors are wearing non-surgical, homemade or better masks when they're working out in the field except when working in a flash zone around specific electrical equipment.

Working remotely. All employees who are able to work from home are doing so. That includes most of our Customer Contact Center representatives, including Kimberly Wampole (pictured at her home workstation).

Sanitizing. We've increased cleaning and sanitizing of all facilities, so if an employee needs to come into a PPL building, they can be confident that the area is safe.

PPL employee working from home office
PPL employees and students holding books in classroom

Making back-to-school dreams come true

It's true that "back-to-school" has a different meaning this year than it has in the past. Depending on their schools or where they live, students could be taking classes online, in-person, or a little of both.

Regardless of what back-to-school means for you, PPL is here to help make academic dreams come true for some of our customers.

Environmental scholarships for high school seniors

We recently selected seven high school seniors to receive our
Future Environmental Leaders Scholarship!

We give these $2,000 scholarships to selected students who are pursuing careers that will benefit our environment. Congratulations
to the winners!

  • Ethan T. Davies (Freedom High School); Penn State University;
    Environmental System Engineering
  • Kayla Lincalis (Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences);
    Bucknell University; Environmental Engineering
  • Lenka M. Platt (Halifax High School); Chatham University;
    Biology and Sustainability
  • Ann M. Birmingham (Berks Catholic High School);
    Nova Southeastern University; Marine Biology
  • Christian R. Dury (Honesdale High School); Penn State University;
    Chemical Engineering
  • Rachel T. Soccio (Newport High School); Penn State University;
    Veterinary and Biomedical Science
  • Bryndil L. Kemler (Central Columbia Senior High School);
    Pennsylvania College of Technology; Surveying Technology

Grant funding for education and sustainable initiatives

Our PPL Foundation recently gave $500,000 in grants to 116 non-profit organizations to support educational initiatives and strengthen community resources.

Among the grants we awarded were 19 for libraries and other literacy-focused organizations in support of Cover to Cover, our initiative to improve child literacy through reading and summer learning programs. (Pictured: Students show off their new books as part of our Cover to Cover program. Picture taken in 2019 prior to social distancing guidance.)

To learn more about our commitment to our communities, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or visit pplelectric.com.

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