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PPL (utility)
Encyclopedia
PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania
Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania
, USA
. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts (MW) of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania
and Montana
, and delivers electricity to 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania, nearly a million in Kentucky
, and 2.6 million in Great Britain
. It also provides natural gas delivery service to 321,000 customers in Kentucky.
The majority of PPL's power plants burn coal
, oil
, or natural gas
. PPL also owns peaking plants
, which require few operators and have a high profit margin due to their ability to rapidly come online when the price of electricity spikes. PPL's largest plant is the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
, a 2,352 MW nuclear power plant
, located on the Susquehanna River
seven miles (11 km) northeast of Berwick, Pennsylvania
.
The company is publicly-traded on the New York Stock Exchange
under ticker symbol .
PPL is the seventh largest employer in the Lehigh Valley
region of Pennsylvania. The company's headquarters is based in the PPL Building, the tallest building in Allentown.
On November 1, 2010 PPL Corporation purchased E.ON US, the parent company of Kentucky’s two major utilities, Louisville Gas & Electric
Company and Kentucky Utilities
Company for $7.625 billion from German utility firm E.ON
.
of electrical utilities in the 1990s encouraged PPL to purchase assets in other states. The largest of these transactions was PPL's 1998 purchase of 13 plants from Montana Power (leaving NorthWestern Energy - the buyer of the former Montana Power transmission and distribution systems - vulnerable to high "spot" prices on the energy market). This added over 2,500 MW of capacity and was the largest expansion in PPL's history.
PPL's 2008 revenue was $8.2 billion, with a net profit of $930 million, making it number 314 on the 2009 Fortune 500
list.
In March 2011, PPL acquired from E.ON
the British distribution company Central Networks for £3.5 billion.
' largest company, Hyder
, to form half of Western Power Distribution
(a UK-based energy distribution company and subsidiary
of PPL), a local beauty spot and part Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff
, called Llanishen Reservoir
, was acquired as an asset. Western Power and PPL's plans to redevelop the surface area of the reservoir to include 300 new houses with a smaller 'wildlife area' are highly controversial, and the issue has been taken by various British MPs to the Welsh Assembly and the UK parliament.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
The PPL Building is the tallest building in Allentown. The building has 23 stories and is 322 feet (98.1 m) tall. It is the second tallest building in the Lehigh Valley after Bethlehem's Martin Tower
. It is located at the intersection of Hamilton and Ninth Streets in the downtown area of the city.
The building is often uniquely illuminated at night, especially during the Christmas
season. During the 1960s, Pennsylvania Power & Light Company supported the local United Fund community fund drive program by using the building's brightly lit windows at night to spell out the abbreviation "U.F." to remind area residents to contribute to the fund drive.
(who would later have a hand in designing New York's Rockefeller Center
) and was supervised by his assistant, Wallace Harrison
(who would later design Lincoln Center, LaGuardia Airport
and the U.N. Headquarters Building). The building exterior features bas reliefs by Alexander Archipenko
. In 1930, the PPL Building was named the "best example of a modern office building" by Encyclopedia Britannica, and also featured the world's fastest elevator
.
It has been awarded the Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for making use of sustainable development principles.
(which is outside of PPL's service territory), the home stadium of Major League Soccer
's Philadelphia Union. As part of the $25 million, 11-year deal, PPL EnergyPlus will provide sustainable energy
to PPL Park derived from other sources in Pennsylvania
.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts (MW) of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, and delivers electricity to 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania, nearly a million in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and 2.6 million in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It also provides natural gas delivery service to 321,000 customers in Kentucky.
The majority of PPL's power plants burn coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, or natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
. PPL also owns peaking plants
Peaking power plant
Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants, and occasionally just "peakers," are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity.-Peak hours:...
, which require few operators and have a high profit margin due to their ability to rapidly come online when the price of electricity spikes. PPL's largest plant is the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a nuclear power station, is in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, just south of Shickshinny, in Salem Township, Pennsylvania, United States...
, a 2,352 MW nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
, located on the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
seven miles (11 km) northeast of Berwick, Pennsylvania
Berwick, Pennsylvania
Berwick is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 22.6 miles southwest of Wilkes Barre. Berwick is one of two principal cities of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Montour counties and had a combined population of 82,387...
.
The company is publicly-traded on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
under ticker symbol .
PPL is the seventh largest employer in the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
region of Pennsylvania. The company's headquarters is based in the PPL Building, the tallest building in Allentown.
On November 1, 2010 PPL Corporation purchased E.ON US, the parent company of Kentucky’s two major utilities, Louisville Gas & Electric
Louisville Gas & Electric
Louisville Gas & Electric is a utilities company based in Louisville, Kentucky. A subsidiary of PPL Corporation through the LG&E and KU Energy subsidiary, LG&E serves over 350,000 electric and over 300,000 natural gas customers, covers an area of 700 square miles , and has a total regulated...
Company and Kentucky Utilities
Kentucky Utilities
Kentucky Utilities is based in Lexington, Kentucky and provides electricity to 77 counties in Kentucky. KU also serves five counties in Virginia under the name Old Dominion Power. It is owned by LG&E and KU Energy, LLC, which, in turn, is owned by PPL Corporation.-History:Kentucky Utilities was...
Company for $7.625 billion from German utility firm E.ON
E.ON
E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
.
History
PPL was founded in 1920 out of a merger of eight smaller Pennsylvania utilities. It confined its activities to central and northeastern Pennsylvania for several decades until deregulationDeregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of electrical utilities in the 1990s encouraged PPL to purchase assets in other states. The largest of these transactions was PPL's 1998 purchase of 13 plants from Montana Power (leaving NorthWestern Energy - the buyer of the former Montana Power transmission and distribution systems - vulnerable to high "spot" prices on the energy market). This added over 2,500 MW of capacity and was the largest expansion in PPL's history.
PPL's 2008 revenue was $8.2 billion, with a net profit of $930 million, making it number 314 on the 2009 Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
list.
In March 2011, PPL acquired from E.ON
E.ON
E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
the British distribution company Central Networks for £3.5 billion.
Subsidiaries
- PPL Electric Utilities (formerly Pennsylvania Power & Light)
- PPL EnergyPlus
- PPL Generation
- LG&E and KU Energy
- Louisville Gas and Electric
- Kentucky UtilitiesKentucky UtilitiesKentucky Utilities is based in Lexington, Kentucky and provides electricity to 77 counties in Kentucky. KU also serves five counties in Virginia under the name Old Dominion Power. It is owned by LG&E and KU Energy, LLC, which, in turn, is owned by PPL Corporation.-History:Kentucky Utilities was...
- Western Power DistributionWestern Power DistributionWestern Power Distribution is the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies - WPD South West , WPD South Wales and WPD Midlands...
including former Central Networks
Controversy in foreign subsidiary
After the controversial takeover in 2000 of WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
' largest company, Hyder
Hyder
Hyder can refer to:*Hyder, Alaska, a town in the United States*Hyder , a former UK utility infrastructure company*Hyder Consulting, a current infrastructure company, former subsidiary of Hyder*the Arabic name Haydar...
, to form half of Western Power Distribution
Western Power Distribution
Western Power Distribution is the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies - WPD South West , WPD South Wales and WPD Midlands...
(a UK-based energy distribution company and subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of PPL), a local beauty spot and part Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, called Llanishen Reservoir
Llanishen Reservoir
Llanishen Reservoir is a Victorian reservoir in North Cardiff in South Wales. The reservoir is one of the reservoirs constructed as part of the Taff Fawr scheme for supplying water to Cardiff and was completed in 1886...
, was acquired as an asset. Western Power and PPL's plans to redevelop the surface area of the reservoir to include 300 new houses with a smaller 'wildlife area' are highly controversial, and the issue has been taken by various British MPs to the Welsh Assembly and the UK parliament.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Customer Satisfaction
PPL Electric Utilities, which serves 1.4 million customers in 29 counties of Pennsylvania in the United States, has received 15 J.D. Power and Associates awards for customer satisfaction — more than any other utility in the United States.PPL Building
Martin Tower
The Martin Tower is the tallest building in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the greater Lehigh Valley. The building has 21 stories and is tall, 8 feet taller than the PPL Building in Allentown. The building is located on Eighth Avenue in Bethlehem, just north of the interchange with Pennsylvania...
. It is located at the intersection of Hamilton and Ninth Streets in the downtown area of the city.
The building is often uniquely illuminated at night, especially during the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season. During the 1960s, Pennsylvania Power & Light Company supported the local United Fund community fund drive program by using the building's brightly lit windows at night to spell out the abbreviation "U.F." to remind area residents to contribute to the fund drive.
History of the PPL Building
The PPL Building was built from 1926 to 1928. It was built by the PPL corporation and to this day has been the headquarters of the company. The building was designed by architect and skyscraper pioneer Harvey Wiley CorbettHarvey Wiley Corbett
Harvey Wiley Corbett was an American architect primarily known for skyscraper and office building designs in New York and London, and his advocacy of tall buildings and modernism in architecture.-Early life and career:...
(who would later have a hand in designing New York's Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
) and was supervised by his assistant, Wallace Harrison
Wallace Harrison
Wallace Kirkman Harrison , was an American architect.-Career:Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center...
(who would later design Lincoln Center, LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
and the U.N. Headquarters Building). The building exterior features bas reliefs by Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist.-Biography:...
. In 1930, the PPL Building was named the "best example of a modern office building" by Encyclopedia Britannica, and also featured the world's fastest elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
.
The Plaza at PPL Center
The Plaza at PPL Center, PPL’s new office building in downtown Allentown, Pa., boasts a long list of environmental features, including a vegetative roof and innovative energy and water-saving devices.It has been awarded the Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for making use of sustainable development principles.
Marketing
In February 2010, the PPL Corporation purchased the naming rights to PPL Park in Chester, PennsylvaniaChester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
(which is outside of PPL's service territory), the home stadium of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
's Philadelphia Union. As part of the $25 million, 11-year deal, PPL EnergyPlus will provide sustainable energy
Sustainable energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
to PPL Park derived from other sources in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.