PPL Electric Files Plan To Give Customers Second Option To Smooth Out Rate Increases

PPL Electric Utilities has asked the Public Utility Commission for permission to offer customers a second option for spreading out higher electricity prices.

 

“Our plan, if approved, would give eligible customers the option of deferring payments on a portion of the higher electricity prices that will take effect January 1, 2010, after more than a decade of capped rates,” said David G. DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities. “We are committed to giving our customers options for spreading out the expected increase.”

 

Electricity prices will be higher starting in 2010 for PPL Electric Utilities’ customers following the expiration of a rate cap on the cost of electricity supply that was part of a 1998 agreement between the company and the state.

 

PPL Electric Utilities does not generate electricity and is required to purchase electricity in a competitive market, and pass through the cost of that electricity without profit, for customers who choose not to shop for their own supply.

 

PPL Electric Utilities already offers an advance payment phase-in option that lets residential and small-business customers adjust gradually to higher electricity prices. About 140,000 customers signed up for that option last year.

 

“It’s clear from the response to our phase-in option that many customers want ways to spread out the 2010 price increase,” DeCampli said.

 

If approved by the PUC, the deferral option would enable eligible residential and small-business customers to defer payment of any increase on their 2010 electric bills that is expected to be greater than 25 percent based on the company’s current estimates.

 

Deferred amounts, plus interest of 6 percent, would be repaid by customers over a one- or two-year period, depending on their level of electricity use. Pending PUC approval of this option, customers will be invited to enroll by December 15.

 

Under a plan approved by the PUC in 2007, PPL Electric Utilities has already purchased two-thirds of the power it will need in 2010 to serve residential and small-business customers who don’t choose their own supplier. If the average prices for the remaining purchases match the prices approved so far, the monthly bill for a residential customer of PPL Electric Utilities using 1,000 kilowatt-hours would increase in 2010 by 36.1 percent, or about $38.48.

 

DeCampli said another way customers can limit their increase in 2010 is by taking steps now to improve their energy efficiency.

 

“Customers have more control over their electricity use than they might think,” he said. “Customers by the thousands are learning more about how they use electricity in their homes and businesses. And they’re finding that little steps can make a big difference.”

 

He said PPL Electric Utilities is supporting their efforts by offering tools like the company’s online Energy Analyzer, which uses the capabilities of the company’s advanced metering system to provide detailed usage information and help customers understand how they can save energy and reduce their electric bills.

 

The Energy Analyzer and the “e” Store, which provides PPL Electric Utilities customers 20 percent discounts on the purchase of energy-efficient products, are available online.

 

PPL Electric Utilities also offers a program to help small businesses improve their lighting efficiency, and is offering homeowners up to $250 in rebates on home energy audits.