Five things you might not know about our price to compare
We’ve posted our next price to compare, which takes effect June 1. But do you really know what that is, or what it means?
If you aren’t sure how to make this information work for you, here are five things that will help you understand the price to compare and what it means to you.
1: The price to compare is what you’ll pay for the electricity you use if you buy it from PPL Electric Utilities, and not from another supplier. How’s that work? Read on.
2: You don’t have to pay the price to compare. You can buy the electricity your home or business uses from a state-licensed supplier. (We call this “shopping.”) Or, if you take no action, PPL Electric Utilities buys electricity and provides it to you with no markup or profit. Either way, the power you use comes to you safely and reliably ov
er our delivery network.
If you’ve shopped — that is, if you buy your electricity from another supplier — the price to compare does not apply to you. You’ll keep getting your energy at whatever rate you agreed on with your supplier. About 45 percent of our customers shop.
If you get your electric supply from PPL, the price to compare does affect you. It’s the price you’ll pay for the supply portion of your bill. And it’s updated twice a year, on June 1 and Dec. 1.
3: We encourage you to shop. Other suppliers may offer lower rates than our price to compare, and you may be able to save money by buying your electricity from a state-licensed supplier. To see all the offers from state-licensed suppliers, visit the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s PAPowerSwitch.com website. (It’s called the “price to compare” because you can directly compare it to the offers from other suppliers.)
Make sure you understand all the terms of a supply contract before you sign. The most common variables are length of the contract; whether a termination fee applies if you end the contract early; and whether the rate is fixed or variable — that is, whether it is guaranteed not to change over the life of the contract.
4: The price to compare only applies to one part of your bill. There are two main costs that make up most of your monthly bill. The supply or generation charge is the cost of the actual electricity you use, while the delivery charge is the cost to reliably operate and maintain our electric grid.
The price to compare only applies to the supply or generation portion of your bill, not to the delivery portion. The rate for delivery is set separately. That’s why, if the price to compare goes down by a certain percentage, your monthly bill won’t go down by the exact same percentage (all other factors being equal.)
5: So what is the new price to compare, anyway? Effective June 1, the new price to compare for residential customers will be 7.449 cents per kilowatt-hour, slightly lower than the previous price to compare. The price to compare for small business customers will be 6.776 cents per kilowatt-hour, down about a cent from the previous price. (The prices are adjusted every six months to reflect the cost of power purchases and adjustments based on customer use in the prior period.)
NRG is currently my supplier. The contract will end on 6/12..Their new rate (supply) will be $0.099 per kWh. How does this
rate compare with PPL’s? If yours is lower, then I will switch back…..Don
Don: PPL’s price to compare for residential customers is currently 7.463 cents per kilowatt-hour. On June 1, that price will slightly decrease to 7.449 cents per kWh. More info is available at pplelectric.com/shopping.
what about industrial rates?!?!
Vince: There is no price to compare for industrial customers. The price they pay is based on hourly market prices in the wholesale power market.
Where do you post your delivery portion rates? I can’t seem to find that.
Luke: Our delivery rates are posted as part of our tariff, which can be found here: https://www.pplelectric.com/utility/about-us/electric-rates-and-rules/current-electric-tariff/table-of-contents.aspx
What is the distribution charge? Does PPL charge that? I have NRG, my electric bill is insane compared to my neighbor who does not have NRG but rather PPL. Are there hidden charges that the ‘regular’ customer needs to know about before the customer picks a supplier?
Marian:
1) The distribution charge is the portion of your bill that pays the cost to maintain and operate the distribution system (the poles and wires that bring power directly to your home and business.)
It’s one of two major charges on your bill — the other is the generation or supply charge, which is the cost of the actual energy you use each month.
The price to compare only applies to the generation/supply charge. It is not related to the distribution charge, which is set separately.
2) We recommend that customers who are choosing a supplier check the following info:
– Is the supplier’s offer fixed (meaning it will not change) or variable (meaning it can — and likely will — change over the length of the contract)?
Many customers prefer the consistency and predictability of a fixed rate, but variable rates are an option if you’re comfortable with potential change.
– What is the length of the supplier’s contract?
– Are there any cancellation or termination fees for leaving the contract early, if you choose to do so?
We also recommend that, when your contract with the supplier ends, you pay close attention to the supplier’s mailings. You will remain a customer of the supplier, and the supplier is required to tell you what your new rate will be once your contract ends. It is often higher than the contract rate, which may be an opportunity for you to switch suppliers and save money.
I am assisting another customer with choosing a new generation supplier. If their current contract with another supplier ends on October 10, 2018 and they decide to take PP&L as their generation supplier starting October 11th, will the amount change on December 1? If they decide to accept the new PP&L charge on December 1st, would they again face a change again in June?
Mary: Yes. PPL’s price to compare is adjusted twice a year, on June 1 and Dec. 1, and all customers who are on the price to compare will see their price change at those times.
I’ve been switched to a different supplier without my knowledge, apparently by some scam outfit, and wish it report it to the proper authorities. Who to notify about this? The Attorney General in Pennsylvania seems lie good starting point. Any comments?
Lowell: You might also want to notify the Public Utility Commission, which oversees competitive suppliers and the shopping process.