Met-Ed, Penelec & Penn Power Soon To Charge 12% Less For Electricity
Pennsylvanian customers will experience changes to their residential electricity bills, starting March 1, 2021. The state’s four major utilities, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, and West Penn Power, all members of the FirstEnergy Pennsylvania group, have collectively filed new tariffed residential PTC-Default rates with the Pennsylvania PUC for the following three-month period.
The new default electric rates (known as the ‘Price To Compare’) will be approximately 11-12% lower than the current amounts. The lower prices come only a few months after the Group utilities hiked up the prices by approximately 7% to brace themselves for a cold winter and increased demand for power. The companies justified this increase by necessary investments in long-term multi-million-dollar distribution improvement projects in Pennsylvania, passed down to the customers in the form of rate hikes.
The new proposed lower prices will have to be approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission before they can take effect. The impact of the proposed rates is as follows:
For Met-Ed residential customers, this means 12% decrease, from the current rate of $0.061740 per kWh to $0.05418 per kWh.
For Penelec residential customers, this means a 12% decrease, from the current rate of $0.05667 per kWh to $0.04981 per kWh.
For Penn Power residential customers, this means 11% decrease, from the current rate of $0.06435 per kWh to $0.05721 per kWh.
For West Penn Power residential customers, this means a decrease from the current rate of $0.05198 per kWh to $0.05154 per kWh.
It’s hard to tell what trajectory the default residential electric rates will assume following the three months period starting March. Pennsylvanian customers who would like to avoid volatility in future electric prices can opt for a locked, fixed-rate electricity plan with one of Pennsylvania retail energy providers (REPs).
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