Corporate partner reaffirms electrical safety in return visit

A safety demonstration, as shockingly eye-opening as it is thoroughly crowd-pleasing, returned to a Penn College parking lot on Wednesday.

Three employees of PPL Electric Utilities (Jared Dyer, Doug Haupt and Chad Waltman) enlightened a main campus audience through the Live Line Electrical Safety Exhibit: a 7,200-volt distribution grid that uses live wires, utility poles and transformers to make abundantly clear the dangers associated with electricity. The utility's well-trained and protectively attired staff employs ladders, gloves, shovels and other tools in a controlled outdoor environment to recreate the sparks, flames, smoke and crackling that occur when items come in contact with live electrical lines.

It was the third college appearance for the attraction – first invited last fall by faculty in the School of Engineering Technologies – that makes frequent free appearances across a 29-county service area, sharing vital information with first responders and other interested audiences. PPL Electrical Utilities is among Penn College's Corporate Tomorrow Makers, collaborating in a mutually beneficial partnership for student success and innovation.