Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Lower Saucon Township Council Vice President Tom Maxfield said power company PPL's recent plan to remove about 70 trees from a section of Silver Creek Road was partly quashed thanks to township intervention.
After a single Silver Creek Road resident filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) about the frequency of power outages in the area, PPL decided to take drastic action in order to keep its power lines near the rural thoroughfare clear of trees, Lower Saucon Township Council Vice President Tom Maxfield said May 1. Last month it was learned that the power company had earmarked about 70 large trees along Silver Creek Road for removal, and it was only because of a last minute intervention by township officials that the company ultimately "deselected" about 45 of those trees, Maxfield said. "They (PPL) will continue to pursue the policy of getting as much as they can get," Maxfield said, adding that "it took a …
40.57326
-75.29141
Lower Saucon Rd & Silver Creek Rd, Hellertown, PA
/articles/dozens-of-silver-creek-road-trees-spared-the-axe
/locations/9342942
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The Quarry-Seidersville transmission line runs from PPL's Seidersville substation in Lower Saucon Township to its Quarry substation on the Bethlehem-Freemansburg border. It serves customers in both Hellertown and the township.
- BUSINESS
-
Sunday, April 21
PPL has announced that it plans to rebuild a "key" transmission line in the Saucon Valley area. The Quarry-Seidersville transmission line runs between a substation in Seidersville, Lower Saucon Township, and the Quarry substation on the Bethlehem-Freemansburg border, PPL said in a news release. "The project will make this power line much less likely to be knocked out by storm damage such as tree strikes, lightning and high winds," the company said, adding that the decision to rebuild the line is "in a direct response to the widespread, prolonged power outages following Hurricane Sandy and other major storms." PPL said the Quarry-Seidersville line serves more than 27,800 electric customers, including customers in Bethlehem, Freemansburg, …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
PPL has marked a number of large trees for removal along a section of Silver Creek Road in Lower Saucon Township. Township council members have expressed concern about the potential loss of the trees.
The eastern end of Silver Creek Road in Lower Saucon Township is a narrow thoroughfare that winds through dense woods composed of towering trees. Interspersed with the trees are historic homes, some nearly hidden from view. That unique character could change, however, if PPL succeeds in its effort to remove many of the large trees from along the sides of Silver Creek Road, not far from its terminus at Lower Saucon Road. The issue of the trees' potential removal was brought before Lower Saucon Township Council Wednesday by Township Manager Jack Cahalan, who said it was recently discovered that many tree trunks along the road are tagged in preparation for cutting. Several council members expressed concern about PPL's plan, which Cahalan said…
40.57326
-75.29141
Silver Creek Rd & Lower Saucon Rd, Hellertown, PA
/articles/township-fears-silver-creek-road-trees-will-be-axed
/locations/9268482
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Lower Saucon Township Police say copper ground cables were recently stolen from PPL transmission towers at a substation on Applebutter Road.
Lower Saucon Township Police say they are investigating the theft of copper ground cables from 46 transmission towers at a PPL substation at 2324 Applebutter Road. Police said in a news release that each cable is 4/0 braided, bare (no insulation), and about three feet long. Sometime between March 8 and March 15, "access (to the substation) was gained by cutting the security fence closest to Ringhoffer Road," police said. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call the Lower Saucon Township Police Department at 610-317-6110.
40.621279
-75.309943
2324 Applebutter Rd, Bethlehem, PA
/articles/copper-swiped-from-ppl-substation-police
/locations/9044298
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Hellertown Borough Councilman announced Dec. 17 that residents can now report street light outages via the borough website.
If your street seems darker than normal, you may live near a burnt-out street light. There are a number of street light outages in the borough of Hellertown, officials confirmed at the Dec. 17 borough council meeting. Darker sidewalks and roadways can be hazardous to pedestrians and motorists. In order to replace blown bulbs in the street lamps, PPL needs to know they have burnt out, officials stressed. And to help facilitate the flow of information to the local utility, the borough has added a "street light outage" form to its website, councilman Tom Rieger said. The form is accessible by clicking on the "Report a Street Light Out" link on the left side of the homepage. "We need to report them like mad," public works director Tom Henshaw …
40.57948
-75.34084
Borough of Hellertown
685 Main St, Hellertown, PA
/articles/street-light-outages-can-be-reported-on-borough-website
1785475
/locations/8412656
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Saucon Valley schools will reopen on Monday, Nov. 5, after being closed for a week due to widespread power outages caused by Superstorm Sandy.
Saucon Valley students will return to class tomorrow, superintendent Dr. Sandra Fellin announced late Sunday afternoon. Students were off from school for a week due to widespread power outages caused by Superstorm Sandy's high winds. Since a few parts of the area are still without power, Fellin said accommodations will be made for students and staff who haven't had service restored yet. "Locker rooms will be open to staff and students if needed," she said. And "those students not is attendance due to power outages and road closures will have excused absences." Monday will be a catch-up day for students; Tuesday and Wednesday will be the end of the first quarter; and Thursday will be a half-day grading day. Fellin said all Lower Saucon …
40.570549
-75.327816
Saucon Valley School District
2097 Polk Valley Rd, Hellertown, PA
/articles/saucon-students-to-return-to-class-monday
875167
/locations/8101761
The Saucon Valley Middle School will close as a storm shelter Sunday night at 9pm.
Saucon Valley School District superintendent Dr. Sandra Fellin announced Sunday morning that the middle school shelter that opened Thursday will close Sunday evening at 9pm. The school first opened last week as a warming center and a place for local residents to take hot showers and charge electronics. As the power outages caused by Superstorm Sandy stretched beyond Thursday, and temperatures dropped, the school was opened on a 24-hour basis so residents without heat could have a warm place to sleep. Today, "everyone is welcome for one last hot shower or to power up their devices," Fellin said Sunday. She also issued a "heartfelt thank you" to the volunteers who helped staff the shelter on a 24-hour basis, including teachers, custodians …
40.570666
-75.324203
Saucon Valley Middle School
2095 Polk Valley Rd, Hellertown, PA
/articles/middle-school-shelter-closing
875024
/locations/8101022
Saturday, November 3, 2012
PPL adds hundreds more workers to Lehigh Valley crews to try to restore all power by 11 p.m. Sunday.
- BUSINESS
-
Saturday, November 3, 2012
PPL Electric Utilities says it is pouring more manpower into eastern Pennsylvania for a final push this weekend to repair the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy. Approximately 600 additional line workers, now finished working in other areas of the PPL Electric Utilities service territory, arrived Friday and Saturday to supplement the existing army of repair crews. The additional crews bring the total work force in the eastern part of the state to 2,500. While power is now restored to more than 85 percent of the PPL Electric Utilities customers affected by the massive storm, the utility’s commitment to getting the lights back on as safely and as quickly as possible until the last customer is restored will not waver. “We continue to pull in…
Friday, November 2, 2012
Much of the nearby borough of Fountain Hill and surrounding South Bethlehem neighborhoods remain without power in the wake of high winds that brought down utility poles and trees Monday night.
UPDATE: As of 1:30pm Friday, an Asplundh crew was working to remove the fallen tree from the south end of Uncas Street. The tree, which is tangled in utility lines, is resting on the roof of a house near the corner of Uncas and Delaware Avenue. Tiny Uncas Street lies near the border between South Bethlehem and Fountain Hill. A leafy lane lined with attractive townhomes, the thoroughfare that is far from isolated currently looks more like a war zone than a residential side street, with a massive fallen tree blocking one end of it near Delaware Avenue. Four days after Superstorm Sandy struck the region Uncas Street remains closed to traffic, with nary a PPL truck or worker in site late Friday morning. Meanwhile power is still out to the …
40.61106
-75.38887
Delaware Ave & Uncas St, Bethlehem, PA
/articles/four-days-post-sandy-side-street-still-a-mess
/locations/8095359
Customers who remain without power from the Lehigh Valley to the Poconos are venting their frustration via social media and turning to PPL's Facebook page, where the utility company is posting updates about its power restoration efforts.
Although weather forecasters warned last week that Hurricane Sandy's high winds could result in lengthy power outages, the blackout that has now lasted for close to four days in some parts of the area is causing confusion and frustration for many local residents who remain in the dark. That is evident on PPL's Facebook page, where the utility has been posting frequent updates about progress on its restoration efforts for customers in a 29-county area that includes the Lehigh Valley. Locally, the north end of Hellertown and parts of Lower Saucon Township remain in the dark as of Friday, along with much of Williams Township, Fountain Hill and eastern Salisbury Township. And patience is wearing thin for some customers whose homes are growing …
Bob Linney
8:46 pm on Monday, April 22, 2013
PPL is upgrading "Transmission" lines, which are very high voltage and are next to impossible to put below ground. The type of buried power lines you are thinking of are part of a low voltage (as low as 240 volt) "Distribution" system. Buried electric along with cable/internet and telephone lines are most frequently used in new housing developments. more ›