PECO Pays 6 Percent Interest To Help Customers Pay Their Energy Bills, Enrollment Now Open

Enrollment begins in May for PECO’s Early Phase-In program, a new payment option to help customers prepare for the beginning of market-based rates on January 1, 2011.

 

An optional energy-savings account, the program gives customers the choice of paying a little more each month, for 18 months, beginning July 2009. Those payments, plus 6 percent interest paid by PECO, will then be applied to customer accounts for 24 months beginning in January 2011.

“The Early Phase-In program can give customers peace of mind, knowing that they can do something now to manage any price uncertainty,” said Denis O’Brien, president and CEO of PECO. “It also makes customers’ energy dollars go further with the 6 percent interest from PECO.”

 

This summer PECO will begin purchasing the electricity needed to serve customers on January 1, 2011 and beyond. The exact price for customers will not be known until after those purchases are made. Energy prices are moderating, based on recent market conditions, but PECO’s residential, small business and commercial customers could experience a 10-20 percent increase.

 

Customers participating in the Early Phase-In program will pay about an additional half-cent per kilowatt-hour of energy use from July 2009 through December 2009, and about an additional penny per kWh of energy use from January 2010 through December 2010.

 

For example, a residential customer using 1,000 kWh of electricity each month would pay an additional $5.30 a month, for six months, in 2009 and $10.70 each month in 2010. This customer would receive $9.70 credited to their account each month in 2011 and $4.86 credited to their account each month in 2012.

 

Residential and smaller commercial customers, with accounts in good standing, can choose to participate in Early Phase-In. Customers can leave the program at any time and receive a full credit, with interest. Participants also can still choose to purchase their electricity from a retail energy supplier, and participation in the program will not affect a customer’s price to compare – the price used to compare offers from other electricity suppliers.

 

The Early Phase-In option is part of PECO’s comprehensive strategy to help customers manage the transition to market-based rates. Other elements include: plans to buy electricity that will result in the lowest, most competitive prices for customers; expanded assistance for low-income customers; energy efficiency tools, information and rebates; and support for a healthy retail energy market in Pennsylvania.