Electric Rates Expected to Rise June 1 for Businesses at Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh
Business customers at Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas can soon expect to start paying more money for electricity if they continue to buy their power supply from Duquesne Light instead of shopping with SaveOnEnergy.com for a lower rate from a competing electric supplier. That’s because Duquesne Light’s Price to Compare, or the electric rate for customers who buy their electric supply from the local utility instead of a competing energy provider, is forecast to increase on June 1 for small and medium business customers. Pennsylvania electric customers now have a choice when it comes to their electricity provider, and no longer have to buy their power supply from the local utility. In fact, the local utilities do not even own power plants anymore, and only maintain the poles and wires to deliver electric supplies to customers from competing providers in the market. If you shop for a
Huge 40% Rate Increase Coming for PECO Mid-Sized Business Customers, Unless They Shop for Competing Supplier
Mid-sized business customers at PECO, the utility serving over 1.6 million customers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and surrounding regions, are due to see a huge spike in their electric rate starting June 1, 2013 if they continue to buy power from PECO instead of shopping for a low rate from an alternative electric supplier. Pennsylvania businesses no longer have to buy their power supply from PECO, and instead can choose among competing electric suppliers offering lower rates. If you shop, PECO still delivers your electricity over its wires with no changes in distribution service. If you don’t shop for an alternative electric supplier, PECO provides you with power under “default” service. PECO no longer generates its own power, and buys supplies for “default” service on the open market throughout the year. Because of the way it buys power, the PECO default service electric rate, called the Price to Compare, can be
Forecast Shows Higher Electric Rates Expected This Summer for Non-Shopping Customers at PPL
Residential customers in the PPL service area in Pennsylvania who do not shop for an alternative power supplier are expected to pay higher electric rates starting June 1, according to an updated estimate provided by the utility. With customer choice, Pennsylvania electric customers no longer have to buy their power supply from PPL, and can choose from among dozens of competing suppliers offering lower electric rates. If customers don’t choose, however, PPL continues to provide them with electricity supply, under a program known as “default service,” with an electric rate that changes every three months. Nearly 60% of residential customers at PPL still buy their power from PPL under default service — at higher prices than what’s available from shopping around for a lower rate. On June 1, PPL’s Price to Compare — the price for default service electricity supply — for residential (RS) customers is estimated to increase nearly
Businesses That Don’t Shop for Power Seeing Higher Electric Rates at Penelec and West Penn Power
Business customers at Penelec and West Penn Power in Pennsylvania who do not shop for a lower electric rate from a competing energy supplier have seen their electric rates rise recently. Penelec and West Penn Power, both owned by FirstEnergy Corp., serve over a million customers in central and western Pennsylvania, including Altoona, Johnstown, and the outer suburbs of Pittsburgh. Thanks to the competition that has been introduced into Pennsylvania’s electric market, customers in Pennsylvania now have the ability to shop for a competing electric supplier offering a lower rate. However, if a customer does not shop for a competing energy supplier, the local utility provides the customer with their power supply under a program known as “default service.” The default service electric rate changes every 3 months, and it changed at Penelec and West Penn Power on March 1. The March 1 changes brought higher business electric rates for
Philadelphia Electric Rates Projected to Rise in April
Electric rates for residential and business customers at PECO Energy in Philadelphia and surrounding areas are projected to increase April 1, according to a forecast published by PECO. If PECO customers do not shop for a lower electric rate from a competing energy supplier, PECO supplies them with “default” generation supply, and charges a “Price to Compare.” The Price to Compare changes every three months, and is next scheduled to change on April 1. PECO routinely posts an estimate of the Price to Compare for the upcoming period. For residential customers, the estimated Price to Compare at PECO starting April 1 is projected to be 9.59¢/kWh. That’s nearly 1¢/kWh higher than current residential electric rates at PECO, or an increase of almost 10%. More importantly, it’s well-above electric rates offered by competing electric suppliers in Philadelphia, who are offering residential service for only 7-8¢/kWh. Similarly, for business customers, PECO commercial
Electric Rates for Business Customers in Pittsburgh to Become More Volatile
Electric rates for small and medium business customers in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area served by Duquesne Light will become more volatile starting June 1, 2013, after the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission adopted a new process for setting “default service” prices. Default service is provided by Duquesne Light to electric customers who do not shop for their electric supplier. It’s a pass-through of wholesale market costs to serve these customers’ power needs. In January, the Public Utility Commission adopted a new program to procure default service supplies at Duquesne Light for the period beginning June 2013, and the new process exposes small and medium business customers at Duquesne Light to greater volatility in the default service rate. Customers can avoid this volatility by actively choosing a lower electric rate offered by a competing energy supplier on SaveOnEnergy.com. Specifically, for medium commercial customers at Duquesne Light (those with demands of 25 kW
Competition Resulting in Lower Electric Rates for Texans, Chronicle Op-Ed Confirms
The competition that allows most Texans to choose their electricity provider has resulted in electric rates that are lower than the old “regulated” rates from a decade ago, an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle confirms. SaveOnEnergy.com has repeatedly shown, through a variety of metrics, how Texas electric rates have gone down thanks to competition among electricity providers. The op-ed in the Chronicle adds to this evidence. “Here are some numbers for those who buy electricity in CenterPoint Energy’s service area: Last year it was common to find a one-year fixed price offer for electricity from a retail provider at 9 cents per kilowatt hour; variable price offers were as low as 5.2 cents per kilowatt hour,” the op-ed reports. “Do you think consumers were better off in 2001, before the competitive market? Well, the regulated price per kilowatt hour in CenterPoint’s service area was 10.4 cents then,” the op-ed notes.
Customers at PECO, PPL, and Met-Ed May Face Higher Bills ThisSummer, Shop Now to Lower Electric Rate
Certain residential customers at PECO, PPL, and Met-Ed in Pennsylvania will be facing higher electric bills this summer due to the end of the air conditioning cycling programs at each of the utilities, which paid customers for allowing the utilities to remotely turn off customers’ air conditioners during periods of high demand on the electric grid. According to the Allentown Morning Call, PECO paid customers $30 per month for participating in the air conditioner cycling program. PPL paid $8 per month, and Met-Ed paid $10 per month. “Some participants also received gift cards for signing up,” the Morning Call reports. “About 140,000 PPL, Met-Ed and PECO customers participated in the conservation programs,” in 2012, the Morning Call reported. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission did not provide funding for the air conditioning cycling programs this year because it is still determining whether the programs are cost-effective in reducing electricity demand. Although
Philadelphia Electric Customers Can Still Save Big By Shopping WithSaveOnEnergy.com
Electric customers in the PECO territory around Philadelphia can still save big by shopping for a competing electric supplier through SaveOnEnergy.com, even as PECO’s Price to Compare decreased on January 1. The Price to Compare is the electric rate charged to customers who take PECO’s “default service” — meaning those customers who haven’t shopped for an alternative electric supplier. On January 1, PECO’s Price to Compare was set at 8.69 cents per kWh. While this is lower than the Price to Compare in effect for the last quarter of 2012, it’s still much higher than electric rates from competing energy suppliers in the market. Customers who don’t shop for their electric supplier will be missing out on big savings. Electric suppliers competing for residential customers through SaveOnEnergy.com can offer customers an additional 10-15% savings versus the PECO electric rate. Depending on customer usage, that could mean over $100 in savings
San Antonio Electric Customers Missing Out on Savings from Electric Choice, Business Journal Says
Electric customers in San Antonio, who do not have the ability to choose their electricity provider, are missing out on the savings most Texas electric customers are enjoying due to competition in the electric industry, says a story from the San Antonio Business Journal. “Texans are reaping the benefits from being in the most successful competitive electric market in North America,” the Business Journal says. “However, San Antonio ratepayers have yet to get in on the action. That’s because the City of San Antonio and a host of other municipalities have not opened their retail electric markets to competition,” the Business Journal notes. And electric rates in San Antonio are higher than in parts of Texas open to electric choice, such as Dallas and Houston. According to data from the Public Utility Commission, a residential customer using 1,000 kWh/month in San Antonio is paying 9.3¢ per kWh. In Dallas (at