ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Months after customers flooded the state Public Utilities Commission with complaints that PPL had overcharge them on their electricity bills, the PUC is telling the public it's a good time to evaluate their provider options.
The surprise may be that PUC said they could end up with lower bills.
- The state Public Utility Commission has alerted consumers to widespread electric price changes
- It will adjust electric generation prices for non-shopping, or default service customers
- Customers have the choice to shop with competitive electric generation suppliers
The PUC alerted consumers to widespread electric price changes in a news release.
“The upcoming price changes, combined with the increased use of electricity that we typically see during the long, hot days of summer, make this a very good time for consumers to evaluate their energy options,” PUC Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille said in a release.
But customers in Lehigh and Northampton counties can shop for competitive electric generation suppliers, or EGSs. PAPowerSwitch.com, the Commission's official electric shopping website, has details on rates from different suppliers and tips to save energy.
In late January, the PUC said it got hundreds of calls and electronic submissionsfrom consumers complaining about unusually high PPL bills.
PPL apologized, and blamed on an error with its billing system.
PUC opened an investigation, but neither PUC Press Secretary Nils Hagen-Frederiksen nor PPL spokeswoman Jane George offered any comment on its status.
What is the Price to Compare?
Customers who don’t shop for an electricity supplier automatically get PPL Electric Utilities’ default service. PPL Electric Utilities holds energy auctions to buy power on their behalf at market prices, which is what the default rate or PTC is.
Generally, it's updated twice a year at competitive energy auctions designed to help local electric utility companies secure the lowest rate available.
That's the reason the default rate is going down, because PPL will adjust electric generation prices for nonshopping, or default service, customers.
All Pennsylvania regulated electric utilities are adjusting their Prices to Compare, or PTCs, on June 1 for residential and small business non-shopping customers.
For customers who haven't chosen a supplier, they receive “default service” from the utility. That means the utility sets a PTC per kilowatt hour, or kWh, twice or four times a year.
The PTC averages 40%-60% of the customer’s total utility bill.The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
The PTC averages 40% to 60% of the customer’s total utility bill. It varies by utility and level of individual customer usage.
PPL Electric Utilities updates PTC
PPL Electric Utilities customers who don’t shop for their electricity supply will automatically see a drop in the price of that supply.
Of 1.4 million customers, more than 60% don’t shop for electricity from a competitive supplier.
The new PTC for residential customers will drop from 14.612 cents per kwH 12.126.
George, the PPL spokeswoman, said a residential customer who gets default service and will pay the new PTC will see the price of electricity supply decrease $24 per month, based on average use of 1,000 kWh of electricity per month.
"We remind customers to shop smart and carefully review supplier terms and conditions, including understanding the contract term, any associated cancellation fees or how your rate may fluctuate after the contract term expires."Jane George, PPL spokeswoman
Generally speaking, a business customer using the 1,000 kWh of electricity and 5 kW a month will see a $29 savings.
"We remind customers to shop smart and carefully review supplier terms and conditions," George said, "including understanding the contract term, any associated cancellation fees or how your rate may fluctuate after the contract term expires."
Energy prices going down
Last year on the global energy market, energy prices of every kind went up.
"Since the end of this winter, we've been seeing those energy prices move down steadily," said Hagen-Frederiksen, the PUC press secretary. "That's now having an impact with the prices that are being passed along by utilities."
But people who shop might see prices go up.
"It really depends on your utility and your service area and, again, whether or not you shop," said Hagen-Frederiksen. "So assuming that they use the same amount of electricity, they could expect it to go down."
However, it's not all good news. Because we're moving into summer, the energy usage of air conditioning and other appliances typically goes up.
"So even when the price goes down, if people are using more energy, there still may be an upward movement of their bill," Hagen-Frederiksen said. He said he thinks consumers will welcome the change."Nils Hagen-Fredericksen, PUC press secretary
"So even when the price goes down, if people are using more energy, there still may be an upward movement of their bill," Hagen-Frederiksen said. He said he thinks consumers will welcome the change.
But he also recommends customers look into ways to conserving energy to save money.
"In some cases, efficiency and conservation can have an even bigger impact on the size of your bill than just a change in price," he said.
He recommends "little things like running full loads in your appliances like dishwashers and clothes washers and dryers, limiting use of of hot water, running fans instead of the air conditioner on mild days and even things like a one or two degree change in the setting of your thermostat.
"When you add that up over the course of an entire month," he said, it can have "a rather dramatic impact on the size of your bill."
New rates
Starting June 1, new PTC rates for residents are:
- Citizens’ Electric, with an increase from 13.4248 to 13.8078 cents per kWh (up 2.8%)
- Duquesne Light, with an estimated increase from 11.25 to 11.45 cents per kWh (up 1.8%)
- Met-Ed, with an increase from 9.991 to 10.24 cents per kWh (up 2.5%)
- PECO, with an increase from 9.726 cents to 10.312 cents per kWh (up 6%)
- Penelec, with an increase from 9.561 to 9.703 cents per kWh (up 1.5%)
- Penn Power, with an increase from 10.439 to 10.556 cents per kWh (up 1.1%)
- PPL, with a decrease from 14.612 to 12.126 cents per kWh (down 17%)
- UGI, with a decrease from 12.54 to 11.084 cents per kWh (down 11.6%)
- Wellsboro Electric, with a decrease from 12.816 to 12.393 cents per kWh (down 3.3%)
- West Penn Power, with an increase from 8.228 to 9.929 cents per kWh
For small business customers, most electric distribution companies, or EDCs, are adjusting their prices to compare in their small Commercial and Industrial rate classes.
Among the state’s major EDCs, PPL is seeing a decreaseof nearly 21% in its June 1 small business default service rate. For small business owners, the new PTC is 11.689 cents per kilowatt-hour, down from the 14.751 cents per kWh.
Shopping on PAPowerSwitch.com
In the Lehigh and Northampton counties, consumers can choose who supplies their electricity.
PUC’s electric shopping website PAPowerSwitch.com lets people compare offers from competitive energy suppliers. The hope is that might lead to savings, compared with their utility’s default service rate.
The website also has information on how to shop for natural gas supply services. That includes comparing rates from suppliers against the default service rate from their local utility, how to switch suppliers, and hot to return back to default service.
There also are tips for reducing energy usage and managing bills as the summer approaches.
In addition, PPL offers a voluntary Standard Offer Program, which gives customers a fixed-price rate 7% below the utility’s current PTC. The program lasts for one year and can be canceled at any time without a fee fees.
End of Contract Details
Consumers who have contracts with competitive energy suppliers are encouraged to look at expiration dates and contract renewal notices. Those notices, from suppliers, detail energy shopping options and next steps.
Shopping customers can expect to get two contract renewal notices.
One, an "Initial Notice," is 45-60 days prior to the contract’s expiration date.
The other is an “Options Notice,” sent 30 days before the end of a contract. PUC is encouraging customers to read it carefully. It will include a supplier’s proposed changes to current terms of service, as well as other consumer options.
Those options include shopping for another supplier or returning to the utility’s default service. Consumers also can reach out to their current supplier to discuss possible offers and products.
Those with questions who have contacted their current supplier also have the option to escalate to the PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services at 1-800-692-7380. Information on understanding a contract with an electric generation supplier and electric switching can be found here.
READ MORE: PUC: No specific timetable for PPL investigation, hundreds of complaints received