Electric rates in Pennsylvania keep dropping. "Reflecting lower natural gas prices, PPLâs quarterly rates for residential customers buying their power will drop from 7.769 cents per kilowatt hour to 6.935 cents per kilowatt hour starting March 1, bringing a savings of $8.34 for the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatts of power per month. Small-business customers will see rates decline from 6.775 cents per kilowatt hour to 6.387 cents per kilowatt hour. PPL customers have seen generation rates decline each quarter since rate caps were removed in January 2010. PPL customers were then paying 10.44 cents per kilowatt hour." http://www.timesleader.com/news/PPL_bills_go_lower_thanks_to_cheap_gas_02-22-2012.html That is a 33% drop in just over 2 years.
Just one question. Why would rates falling well below the cap have anything to do with caps? What is the connection here, other than purely political of course. If I want to get rid of a bothersome cap, I'll just lower my rates and then say: "See, caps are not needed."
Just one question. Why would rates falling well below the cap have anything to do with a cap being removed ? What is the connection here, other than purely political of course.
One of the reasons for this is that Pennsylvania is one of the few states that has electricity competition. Homeowners in most areas of the state can choose which electric company to purchase electricity from. This competition leads to dropping rates. Compare this to North Carolina, where both Duke and Progress Energy which both recently allowed to increase their rates by over 8% by the state utilities board (read as bribed politicans). Every year it is once again an electric rate increase because North Carolina does not have competition between electric utilities; you are stuck with only one electric company for your home.
yep..i'm in Pa and i do switch every year around this time,before summer starts. take about 5 t0 15 min.savings are from 150 to 500 a years depends on size of your house. nat gas is a different story..prices are x2 above market and been there for years. http://www.papowerswitch.com/shop-for-electricity/shop-for-your-home/by-distributor/peco-energy/r/ 38 electric suppliers to choose from
and dang, let me say that all the rates are way down in the 7 to 9 cents per Kilowatt Hour range. The rates in our state are all 12 cents per KWh and up. I guess competition does work!