As part of our ongoing You Ask, We Answer campaign, we’re answering questions we frequently receive from customers. Here’s a guide on how to shop for energy supply.

I’ve heard that shopping for energy can save me money but I don’t know where to start. How do I shop? And what am I buying?

Here’s how it works:

Most of your monthly bill is made up of two costs – the cost of the energy you use, and the cost of operating and maintaining the delivery grid that brings it to you.

You can choose the company that supplies the energy you use. Or, you can let PPL Electric Utilities buy energy for you. No matter which option you choose, we’ll deliver your energy over our delivery grid, and we’ll continue to provide safe, reliable service.

Many competitive suppliers serve our area, and some offer lower prices for energy supply than we do. You can save money by switching to another supplier that offers a lower price. Almost half of our customers have switched.

We pass on the cost of supplying energy, without any markup or profit, to the customers who choose to buy it from us. So it doesn’t hurt us financially if you choose to sign up with another supplier. In fact, we encourage you to look for better offers. Many of our own employees shop.

You can see all available offers at www.PAPowerSwitch.com, a website operated by the state Public Utility Commission. You’ll also see our current price for energy – called the price to compare – which you can use to evaluate other offers.

If you decide to shop, we urge you to look at all terms of the deal. Is the rate fixed or variable? Is there a cancellation fee? What is the length of the supply contract? All of these things can affect whether a deal is right for you.

To see prior You Ask, We Answer posts, click here.