State Criticizes Met-Ed, PPL On Outages

 

English: Hurricane Irene over North Carolina, United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Met-Ed and PPL electric utilities have to improve their tree-trimming and line maintenance so that preventable outages like those that occurred during the major storms of 2011 can be reduced or eliminated.

The utilities also must be more responsive to customers during major storms, according to three reports critical of the utilities, issued this week by the state Public Utility Commission.

The reports were ordered in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene last August, flooding rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee in early September, and the freak late October snowstorm.

“Tree trimming should be a primary concern for both the (electric utilities) and commission for its effect on reliability as well as its role in long-duration outages,” the report said.

Raed more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=407845

PPL’s Profit, Revenue Surge

Image via Wikipedia

PPL Corp.’s annual profit surged in 2011 on revenue from recent out-of-state acquisitions.

The Allentown energy company earned $1.44 billion, or $2.61 per share, up from $938 million, or $2.17 per share, in 2010.

The whopping 53 percent increase was largely driven by additional revenue from PPL’s recently-acquired Kentucky and United Kingdom utilities.

“This increase reflects the strength of our business portfolio and our prospects for future growth,” James H. Miller, PPL’s out-going chairman said in a press release. “Our strong 2011 results are due to solid performance across our business segments.”

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-ppl-earnings-20120210,0,3573342.story