PPL joins EPRI Climate READi initiative, focusing on strengthening system resilience
PPL Corporation, based in Allentown, Pa., announced Wednesday that it had joined the Climate READi initiative launched by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to address energy system climate resilience and adaptation.
The collaborative effort will strengthen grid resilience against potential climate and weather impacts in light of the increase in extreme weather events.
“As we strive to address climate change and achieve a net-zero future, we’ve made significant progress in hardening our systems and deploying smart grid technology to make our energy networks more resilient to severe weather that may become more frequent with climate change,” said Gregory Dudkin, chief operating officer of PPL Corporation. “Joining EPRI’s Climate READi Initiative will help us build on these efforts in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and now Rhode Island by providing valuable insights into future climate impacts, rather than relying on historical data. This climate modeling will help inform our adaptation, hardening, and resilience investments to deliver long-term reliability for our customers.”
PPL said it has invested more than $20 billion over the past decade on infrastructure improvements across its operating companies in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The company said that much of the investment has been focused on incorporating new technology and hardening transmission and distribution systems. Already the improvements have resulted in a 35 percent reduction in the number of customer outages, the company said, despite increases in storm severity and activity.
The company said it expects to extend that success as it expands its operations to Rhode Island with its acquisition of The Narragansett Electric Company, now Rhode Island Energy.
