Rhode Island Energy Highlights Strong Reliability Performance and Continued Commitment to Customers

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 19, 2026) - Following Rhode Island's coldest winter in over three decades and the historic "Blizzard of '26", Rhode Island Energy (RIE) is reporting significant improvements in electric reliability for its customers. Despite record snowfall, gusting winds, and severe cold, the electric system delivered strong, resilient performance - reflecting how RIE's continued reliability investments are strengthening service for customers statewide.

Through ongoing investments in advanced technology and devices, vegetation management and system upgrades, RIE customers experienced fewer than one outage on average in 2025 - one of the company's best reliability results in more than a decade.

"Our customers are benefiting from stronger grid reliability driven by ongoing, strategic investments in the electric system. Those investments are supported, in part, through the delivery portion of customer bills and are subject to strict regulatory oversight and consumer protections. This year's performance shows the benefits of our investment strategy clearly," said Kathy Castro, VP of Electric Operations at RIE. "We're upgrading infrastructure, improving outage response, and strengthening our system to handle more frequent severe weather. I'm incredibly proud of our RIE team members who work tirelessly to ensure Rhode Islanders receive top-tier service reliability."

Key Improvements Driving Reliability Gains

Reducing tree-related outages

• In 2025, RIE completed tree-trimming work along over 1,140 miles of power lines, with plans to complete more than 1,300 miles this year.
• The company is also launching a new "right tree, right place" education campaign to help reduce future outages by encouraging appropriate planting near power lines.
• Tree-related issues remain the top cause of outages, accounting for about 31% of interruptions in 2025.

Smarter technology to restore power faster

• Since 2022, RIE has installed 116 smart switching devices - that can automatically isolate issues and reroute power.
• These devices have already helped avoid roughly 28,000 service interruptions, saving customers an estimated 2.5 million outage minutes.

Upgrading customer meters

• RIE has replaced nearly 50% of its electric meters across the state with new advanced meters, with full deployment expected later this year.
• Advanced meters give customers better insight into their energy use and help the company detect and respond to outages more quickly.

Transmission Investments

• RIE has invested in strengthening and modernizing its transmission infrastructure, which is the backbone of the electric delivery system. The company is replacing aging and damaged wooden poles with more resilient steel structures and deploying advanced sensors to maximize the use of existing transmission capacity.
• Since 2022, the frequency of transmission system interruptions is down 20%.

Long-Term Progress

RIE's reliability performance has steadily improved over the past decade and has accelerated since the company began serving customers in 2022. Notably, 2023 and 2025 rank among the company's strongest reliability years, driven by sustained investments in infrastructure, maintenance, and storm hardening.

Strong National Benchmark Results

Each year, RIE participates in reliability benchmarking programs run by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which compare utilities across the country.

The most recent national benchmarking results (published in 2025 for 2024 performance) showed that RIE ranked:

• In the top 20% of U.S. utilities for both the lowest outage frequency and the shortest outage duration.
• Best in the Northeast for shortest outage durations in the region.

RIE continues to invest in infrastructure and equipment upgrades, vegetation management, and enhanced storm response capabilities to further strengthen Rhode Island's electric system and prepare for future energy needs.

About Rhode Island Energy

Rhode Island Energy provides essential energy services to over 770,000 customers across Rhode Island through the delivery of electricity and natural gas. Our team of more than 1,300 employees is dedicated to helping Rhode Island customers and communities thrive, while supporting the transition to a cleaner energy future. Rhode Island Energy is part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies addressing energy challenges head-on by building smarter, more resilient, and more dynamic power grids and advancing sustainable energy solutions.

For more information visit www.RIEnergy.com and stay connected on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.