BETHLEHEM, Pa. — PPL Electric Utilities, with 1.5 million customers from Lancaster to the Lehigh Valley to Scranton, said it is making reliability upgrades to its power grid in 2026.
The Allentown-based utility, Pennsylvania's second-largest power provider, said the work is part of a broader effort to modernize infrastructure, reduce outages and prepare for rising electricity demand across Pennsylvania.
The company recently outlined plans for dozens of grid-strengthening projects, expanded smart-grid technology and thousands of miles of tree trimming across its 29-county service territory.
It said from 2026 to 2029, it will invest more than $8 billion in the infrastructure improvements.
Here's what that means for customers:
Why PPL says upgrades are needed
The utility said many improvements are aimed at replacing aging infrastructure and strengthening the system against increasingly severe storms.
Over the past three years, PPL said, it has responded to more storms than in any other three-year period in its recorded history, prompting a greater focus on resilience.
Projects underway include replacing older poles, wires and underground cables, expanding automated "smart grid" equipment that can detect outages and restore service faster, and clearing hazardous trees and branches near power lines.
As part of the upgrades, the company said it also is replacing some poles and overhead lines with materials designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 100 mph — an effort aimed at reducing storm-related outages.
Vegetation management remains a major focus because trees are the leading cause of storm-related outages, according to the company.
It plans to clear hazardous trees and branches along more than 4,750 miles of power lines in 2026 to reduce tree-related outages.
According to First Street, which provides peer-reviewed, physics-based climate modeling to calculate, map and predict environmental risk, the entire Lehigh Valley is at a moderate wind factor risk based on the projected likelihood and speed of hurricane, tornado or severe storms impacting it. Average maximum wind speeds are higher now than they were 30 years ago, and 100% of homes in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton have at least some risk.
What led to fewer outages last year
PPL said outages dropped about 25% from 2024 to 2025.
The company attributes that improvement to the same work continuing this year: infrastructure replacement, expanded grid automation and aggressive vegetation management.
Smart-grid devices can isolate damaged sections of the system and automatically reroute power, which reduces the number of customers affected by outages and speeds restoration times.
Who pays for the grid upgrades
While the company says the projects improve reliability, the cost of those upgrades ultimately flows through customer electric bills.
As with most regulated utilities, PPL Electric Utilities recovers infrastructure investments over time through rates charged to customers.
The company has a proposed rate increase under review by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which regulates utilities in the state.
The proposed increase is an effort to increase revenue $356.3 million a year.
The filing is part of a formal rate case in which state regulators, consumer advocates and other parties review the company’s finances and proposed spending.
The commission also is conducting an investigation as part of that process before deciding whether the rate increase should be approved, reduced or rejected.
The proposed increase would add about $13 a month for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month.
A final decision from the PUC on the rate increase request is due by July 1.
PPL said continued investment in replacing aging equipment, expanding smart-grid technology and trimming trees near power lines is needed to maintain reliability and prepare the electric grid for future demand.
Why electricity demand could surge
PPL also said it is preparing for a major increase in electricity demand across its service territory.
A company spokesman said it expects electric demand on its system could triple over the next decade.
That growth is being driven largely by expansion of advanced manufacturing, new data centers and other large industrial electricity users.
To prepare, PPL said it is investing in its transmission system — the high-voltage lines that move electricity across long distances — so it can handle the additional load.
Will large users raise residential bills?
PPL said there are safeguards intended to prevent large industrial users from shifting costs to residential customers.
The company said large electricity users must enter binding agreements outlining financial and electricity-use commitments before connecting to the system.
Those agreements are meant to ensure new demand does not unfairly increase costs for existing customers.
In an effort to give readers a better understanding of the news, LehighValleyNews.com hopes to occasionally explain in more depth the information we’re reporting, and look at precisely how it will impact the reader. This is the first in a continuing series.
