PPL customers can beat the rate increase

Other electric companies are available

By TOM KANE

PIKE AND WAYNE COUNTIES, PA — Coming as no surprise, PPL Electric Utilities is raising its electricity rates for residences and businesses across the state, including Wayne and Pike counties.

The bad news is that a cap that froze electricity rates at 1996 levels will no longer be enforced, freeing companies to charge higher rates. Beginning on January 1, 2010, the PPL price of electricity throughout Pennsylvania will rise about 30 percent.

The good news, however, is that consumers can shop around and find another electric producer, other than PPL, whose prices are a lot lower. Even with another producer of electricity, PPL must still deliver the energy over its wires and send the new bill to the customer.

There are three main pieces of a resident’s electric bill: generation, transmission and distribution. Generation covers the cost to provide the electricity one uses. Transmission covers the cost to move the electricity from power plants to local communities. Distribution covers the cost to deliver electricity on the final leg to its journey to a home.

When residents shop, they are choosing their generation provider. Generation is by far the biggest piece of their bill. The other two pieces of the bill will remain the same and will be done through PPL. PPL will continue to read the meter, provide storm outage restoration and emergency response.

“You may be able to shop for electricity supply at prices lower than PPL Utilities’ default service rate,” said a letter residents received from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

PPL and PUC want to share information that will help electricity users make the best decisions for their homes and budgets, including decisions about buying electricity supply from alternative suppliers, the PUC said.

The new rate will be in effect for one year. “After 2010, it’s possible that PPL’s rates may actually go down,” said Sonny Popowsky, a Pennsylvania consumer advocate. In time, other electric generating companies may also enter the market, creating more competition and, in theory, causing prices to stabilize or fall depending upon market conditions, he said.

You don’t have to wait for suppliers to come to you. You can take matters in your own hands by exploring supplier offers. The list of suppliers for residents in Pike and Wayne counties are: Liberty Power Corporation of Fort Lauderdale, FL; Dominion Retail of Pittsburgh, d/b/a Dominion Energy Solutions; Direct Energy of Pittsburgh; ConEdison of Valhalla, NY; Community Energy, Inc. of Rodnor, PA; and Alternative Supplier of Wayne, PA.

For businesses, there is a much longer list of suppliers. Contacts for all these suppliers can be obtained from the PUC website at www.puc.state.pa.us/utility choice/listofsupp.aspx?ut=ec; Click on PPL and scroll down to the list of suppliers that offer service in the area.

On the question of how much can be saved by switching, PPL says it depends on how much power you use and the supplier’s price. The average residential customer who doesn’t shop will pay about $100 a month for generation in 2010. Saving 10 percent, for example, would amount to $120 a year.