PPL Montana stands ready to supply 20 megawatts of electricity – at below market rates -- to the Montana energy pool to assist industrial users in the state.

“We are pleased to see that the Montana Public Service Commission has taken action to allocate this 20 megawatts,” said Lawrence De Simone, president of PPL EnergyPlus, the company that markets electricity produced by PPL’s Montana power plants. “Under the offer that we made earlier this year, we will provide this 20 megawatts at 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, a level that is significantly below market prices.”

PPL has pledged to continue to supply this low-cost power to the energy pool through June 30, 2002.

De Simone said PPL, on Friday (6/15), provided The Montana Power Company, which will administer the pool, with a proposed agreement that will enable the electricity to start flowing. “As soon as Montana Power completes the arrangements that it needs to make, we will be begin providing this electricity to the pool,” he said.

The Montana PSC allocated the 20 megawatts to four separate companies in action Thursday (6/14). This allocation covers the period from now through the end of this month. The commission will take further action to allocate the 20 megawatts for the period from July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002.

De Simone said PPL also has met with many of Montana’s industrial customers and, to date, has made numerous written power supply offers. These offers are similar in terms to the supply offer that was tentatively agreed to by Montana Power in late April. Under that offer, PPL would supply 500 megawatts of electricity at 4 cents per kilowatt-hour for five years, beginning in July 2002.

“We are hopeful that we will be able to sign supply contracts with Montana industrial users in the near future,” De Simone said.

He added that the final details of the 500-megawatt arrangement with Montana Power are being worked out. “We think that we are very close to a final agreement on that contract,” said De Simone.

PPL EnergyPlus is an unregulated subsidiary of PPL Corp. PPL EnergyPlus is not the same company as either PPL Electric Utilities, the electric utility, or PPL Gas Utilities, the gas utility. The prices of PPL EnergyPlus are not regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and you do not have to buy PPL EnergyPlus electricity, natural gas or other products in order to receive the same quality regulated services from PPL Electric Utilities or PPL Gas Utilities.