PPL Electric Utilities has joined with 27 other utility companies to participate in the RESTORE program, which works to restore electric service to communities after catastrophic or significant natural events.

RESTORE, or Regional Equipment Sharing for Transmission Outage Restoration, was founded in 2016 by Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Co., PPL Electric Utilities, Tennessee Valley Authority and Southern Co. to identify and share spare transformers and other transmission equipment, which will then be available for purchase by other participants in the event of a major disaster within their service area.

The program has now expanded to include 20 additional participating utilities: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois, Ameren Transmission Co. of Illinois, American Transmission Co. LLC, Associated Electric Cooperative Inc., six Duke Energy utilities, Duquesne Light Co., East Kentucky Power Cooperative, Entergy Corp., Florida Power and Light Co., ITC Midwest, ITC Transmission, METC, Santee Cooper, and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.

Earlier this year, the Department of Energy’s Strategic Transformer Reserve Report to Congress highlighted the national importance of a strategic transformer reserve.

Newly formed at the time of the report, the RESTORE is consistent with DOE’s recommendation for a voluntary industry-based option to address the reserve.

RESTORE enhances the reliability of the power grid and provides additional sources for utilities seeking equipment during disaster recovery.

The RESTORE agreement is now in place among all participating utilities, except a few that must first obtain state approval to execute the agreement.