PPL Corp.’s power generation spinoff Talen Energy will keep its headquarters in the Lehigh Valley.
“The Talen headquarters will be somewhere local,” PPL Corp. spokesman George Lewis said Wednesday. “It will be in the Lehigh Valley, but a specific location has not been chosen.”
This summer, PPL Corp. announced plans to spin off its PPL Supply electricity generation and marketing division, and combine it with the New York-based Riverstone Holdings, to create a company called Talen Energy focused on generating and marketing electricity.
It has previously committed only to place the headquarters in Pennsylvania for at least three years and to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to keep the business in Allentown’s downtown Neighborhood Improvement Zone.
Many PPL employees applying for and being offered jobs with the newly created Talen Energy wanted to know where they would be working, Lewis said. The company has assured them the new company will be based somewhere local, and that they won’t be forced to make long commutes.
“It was certainly a topic of interest here within the company,” Lewis said. “People wanted to make sure if they were going to cast their lot with Talen, apply for, or consider a job offer with the new company; they wanted to factor that into the decision.”
If granted regulatory approvals, the spinoff is expected to be completed in the first half of 2015.
The decision won’t matter much to employees based at PPL Supply power plants, but some 600 mostly white-collar workers work out of The Plaza at PPL Center in the 800 block of Hamilton Street. They, and the tax dollars generated by the PPL Supply business, are key contributors to the success of Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone.
PPL Energy Supply occupies the top five floors of PPL Plaza at Ninth and Hamilton streets.
Most state and local tax revenues now generated by its employees and the business they engage in are set aside by the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority in a fund that can be used to cover construction loan payments on Allentown’s nearby PPL Center arena.
PPL Energy Supply parent company PPL Corp. is listed in the authority’s bond financing documents as one of five large taxpayers that together produce 72 percent of the tax revenue swept up in the zone to cover debt payments.
Remaining in The Plaza, or somewhere else in downtown Allentown are among the possibilities under consideration, Lewis said. If the headquarters moves, it will remain at The Plaza until the new space is constructed or ready for occupancy.
The company has spoken with Mark Jaindl, a principal in Waterfront Partners, about the options available in the mixed-use office, retail and residential development it is building on Allentown’s Lehigh Riverfront, within the boundaries of the NIZ.
“There is significant development going on in some of the major cites in the Lehigh Valley so there are plenty of opportunities for potential Talen headquarters locations,” Lewis said.
Lehigh Valley business and government leaders have been working hard to encourage Talen to stay local, said Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. President and CEO Don Cunningham. Keeping a company like Talen local is “critical,” he said.
Talen is looking at a variety of local options, he said.
“They are doing what a good corporation does, they have hired some experienced professionals to do some analysis on sites and the proper due diligence,” Cunningham said.
Keeping a high-profile employer such as Talen, coming from a company like PPL with a long local history in the Valley, is good news for the region and its business community, said Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“When you can maintain those, that is a good thing from a jobs perspective and economic growth,” Iannelli said. “The Chamber has seen a lot of small business growth, but you don’t want to lose these anchor companies.”
Twitter @skraus
610-820-6745
