PPL Montana will voluntarily reduce the elevation of Flathead Lake to 2,891 feet on or about Nov. 1 to help protect the shoreline from erosion during the typical stormy weather this time of year.

“Lowering Flathead Lake during fall, typically a stormy season in Montana, has significant shoreline benefits,” said Jon Jourdonnais, PPL Montana’s director of hydro licensing and compliance. “Erosion, caused by wind-swept waves that wear at the gravel shoreline, is reduced when the lake elevation is lowered.

“PPL Montana takes seriously its responsibility to provide reliable power and minimize the environmental effects at all its generating facilities,” Jourdonnais said. “We strive to reach an appropriate balance among the need for electricity generation, public recreation and resource protection.”

Flathead Lake provides water storage for PPL Montana’s Kerr Dam hydroelectric plant, about five miles southwest of Polson, which began operating in 1938.

Lowering the elevation of the lake in fall to reduce erosion will enhance shoreline ecology around Flathead Lake and protect recreation lands and habitat.

“In the past, Flathead Lake elevation has averaged about 2892.2 feet on Nov. 1,” Jourdonnais said. “The more than one-foot drop in elevation will greatly reduce lakewide shoreline erosion, which is caused by wind-driven storm waves, boat waves as well as lake elevation.”

PPL Montana has consulted with state and federal agencies and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes about the proposed Nov. 1 elevation at Flathead Lake.

PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).