SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
___________________
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (date of
earliest event reported): June 7, 1996
PENNSYLVANIA ELECTRIC COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
Pennsylvania 1-3522 25-0718085
(State or other (Commission (IRS employer
jurisdiction of file number) identification no.)
incorporation)
2800 Pottsville Pike, Reading, Muhlenberg Township, Berks County,
PA 19640-0001
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (610) 929-
3601<PAGE>
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
(a) Three Mile Island Litigation
On June 7, 1996, Judge Rambo of the US District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted a motion for
summary judgment filed by the Company and its affiliates and
dismissed all 2,100 pending lawsuits claiming personal injury as
a result of the March 1979 Three Mile Island Unit No. 2 accident.
In essence, Judge Rambo ruled in her 97-page opinion that
plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate that they were exposed to
"cancer inducing levels of radiation." She found that, in
reviewing the record in the case for any and all evidence, viewed
in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs, there was no
evidence which created a genuine issue of material fact
warranting submission of plaintiffs' claims to a jury.
The Court had earlier excluded or restricted testimony
from most of the plaintiffs' proposed expert witnesses, finding
that it was not "scientifically based and reliable and based upon
good grounds."
The first 10 allegedly "representative" cases had been
scheduled for trial later in June, but were delayed indefinitely
pending Judge Rambo's decision on dismissing the lawsuits.
It is expected that the plaintiffs will appeal Judge
Rambo's ruling.
A copy of General Public Utilities Corporation's
related news release is attached as an exhibit.
1<PAGE>
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION
AND EXHIBITS
(c) Exhibits
1. News release dated June 10, 1996.
<PAGE>
SIGNATURE
PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934, THE REGISTRANT HAS DULY CAUSED THIS REPORT TO BE
SIGNED ON ITS BEHALF BY THE UNDERSIGNED THEREUNTO DULY
AUTHORIZED.
PENNSYLVANIA ELECTRIC COMPANY
By:______________________________
Terrance G. Howson,
Vice President and Treasurer
Date: June 11, 1996
<PAGE>
EXHIBITS TO BE FILED BY EDGAR
Exhibits
(c) Exhibits
1. News release dated June 10, 1996.<PAGE>
Exhibit 1
(GPU NEWS RELEASE LETTERHEAD)
John T. Fidler
201-263-6479 June 10, 1996
Ray E. Dotter 96-015
717-948-8805
Immediately
GPU OFFICIALS: JUDGE'S RULING CONSISTENT WITH SCIENCE
Parsippany, N.J., June 10, 1996 -- Officials at General
Public Utilities Corporation said today that the decision by a
federal judge to dismiss the personal injury cases stemming from
the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2 was consistent with
reliable science.
"While we have great sympathy for people with serious
illnesses and for their families, the court's decision is
consistent with what reliable science says: that the TMI-2
accident did not cause the illnesses claimed by the plaintiffs,"
GPU officials said in a statement.
Late Friday, Judge Sylvia H. Rambo, chief judge of the
Middle District of Pennsylvania, granted GPU's motion for summary
judgement in the case involving 2,100 lawsuits claiming personal
injury as a result of the accident.
Judge Rambo ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to present
sufficient evidence to take the cases to a jury. She said that
they had not shown that they were exposed to "cancer-inducing
levels of radiation."
"The court has searched the record for any and all evidence
which, construed in a light most favorable to plaintiffs, creates
1<PAGE>
a genuine issue of material fact warranting submission of their
claims to a jury. This effort has been in vain," she wrote in
her 97-page opinion.
She added that the lack of proof supporting the plaintiffs
case was "manifest."
GPU and the other defendants in the cases had asked the
court to dismiss the lawsuits after the judge excluded or
restricted testimony from most of the plaintiffs' proposed expert
witnesses. She had ruled that their testimony was not
"scientifically valid and reliable and based upon good grounds."
In a statement, GPU officials added, "Thousands of pages of
evidence have been submitted. The judge has heard many days of
expert testimony. No valid, reliable evidence was submitted to
contradict what science has said about the accident."
The first 10 cases were expected to go to trial this month.
On May 30, Judge Rambo delayed the trials indefinitely and
delayed her decision on dismissing the lawsuits.
GPU expects the plaintiffs to appeal the ruling.
2<PAGE>
