Electric Light & Power magazine, the voice of the electric utility industry since 1922, has named Allentown, Penn.,-based PPL Corp. the best electric utility in North America and is awarding PPL Corp. its prestigious Utility of the Year designation for 2013.

Editor in Chief Teresa Hansen and her researchers measured North American utility customer satisfaction, financial health, plus storm preparedness and response among multiple other metrics to select the winner.

“PPL won the Utility of the Year award in 2008, and it is unheard of for a utility to win the award again so soon,” Hansen said. “This year my team of researchers and I even examined additional metrics to see if other utilities could be contenders. We quickly realized the winner could be no other utility than PPL this year. It was that clear.”

Hansen will present the Utility of the Year award to PPL Corp. Chairman, President and CEO William H. Spence on Jan. 28, 2014, during the Electric Light & Power and POWERGRID International Awards Dinner in San Antonio. The event is planned for the opening night of the fifth annual Electric Light & Power Executive Conference, which attracts leaders from electric utilities across the globe to brainstorm utility-related technology solutions and share lessons learned.

The awards dinner also leads into DistribuTECH Conference & Exhibition, North America’s No. 1 electricity transmission and distribution and smart grid show that is expected to draw some 10,000 industry experts.

An interview with Spence is published in the November/December issue of the magazine with Spence’s photo on the cover. He said he expects PPL Corp. to flourish further both domestically and in the U.K.

“PPL continues to grow and evolve, but we never lose sight of the fundamentals on which our companies have been built: employee and public safety, world-class customer service and solid corporate citizenship,” Spence said. “Selection as Utility of the Year is an honor recognizing the great work that 17,000 employees of PPL companies in the United States and United Kingdom are doing every day to satisfy customers, provide competitive returns to investors and serve as a positive force in the communities where they live and work.”

In 2012, PPL Corp. posted $12.3 billion in revenue, and assets totaled $43.6 billion. Total utility customers topped 10 million in the U.S. and U.K. In addition, PPL Corp. boasts some 19,000 MW of generation capacity and 200,000 miles of electric lines.

Hansen said the utility impressed her team throughout many categories.
“Mr. Spence has done an outstanding job of leading PPL since he took over as president and CEO in 2011,” Hansen said. “And after Hurricane Sandy, PPL became the model for how to handle big storms and the people affected. PPL employees and Mr. Spence made the difference.”

Recent winners of the Electric Light & Power Utility of the Year award include Southern Co. in 2012, OG&E in 2011, Canada’s Hydro-Quebec in 2010 and Chicago-based Exelon Corp. in 2009.