The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission expects the average Met-Ed residential customer’s bill to increase by about 9.1 percent when the utility’s rate cap expires in December. That hike is based on wholesale electric prices that have, until recently, dropped based on the sluggish economy and customers who cut back on their power consumption.
A division of Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy, Met- Ed serves roughly 190,000 customers in York County. On Dec. 31, Met- Ed’s rate cap expires, and its customers will then pay full-market prices for their power. As of May, Met-Ed had completed three of its four energy auctions and had bought the lion’s share of the power it will distribute to its customers starting Jan. 1, 2011.
During the earlier part of this year, wholesale electric prices stayed low as more people cut back on their demand for power. Also, at the time, wholesale natural gas prices declined. Typically, natural gas is one fuel that power companies use in the generation of electricity. It was at that time that Met-Ed held its first three energy auctions. This fall, Met-Ed has scheduled its final energy auction. Once the final auction is held, competitive suppliers will be able to determine whether or not they wish to enter the market and offer electric customers in Met-Ed competitive electric rates.
Despite the slight uptick in national wholesale power prices, the PUC doesn’t expect a major change from its prediction of a 9.1 percent increase for Met-Ed customers. It is uncertain how the competitive market will look like for Met-Ed electric customers. Dozens of competitors are offering customers choice in PPL, another Pennsylvania utility area whose capped rates expired at the end of 2009.
The PA Public Utility Commission posted the results for the fifth power purchase that PPL has made for its price to compare or default customers. The new rates will go into effect on January 1, 2011. One more auction remains before the final rates are established.
PPL now has secured about 80 percent of its power supply from a total of 16 companies for the first five months of 2011. PPL said that with the continuing trend of lower market prices for power, it would likely be passing along a lower rate for its generation service to residential and small business customers compared to the current price to compare rates of 2o10. However, even with lower default rates expected in 2011, even greater savings are available for customer who decide to shop for competitive rates.
Just over 30% of all electric customers in the PPL territory have switched off of default service, that number is expected to rise as people become more educated on deregulation. Savings for residential electric customers average between 10-15% off of current 2010 default rates. Medium size businesses can save as much as 30% if they take the time to shop for the best power rates.
There are currently savings for Connecticut electricity customers who are serviced by the utility the United Illuminating Company (UI). Both residential and business customers are finding savings by shopping the competitive electric market.
Residential electric customers in the UI service area are paying a default rate of 11.568 cents per kilowatt hour. The lowest electric rate in the UI utility area that we found was for 9.6 cents per kilowatt hour, a 12% savings. Similarly, a 9.6 cents electric rate was found for small business customers in Connecticut compared to the UI default rate of 11.5918, 1 7.3 percent savings.
Electric savings are real in Connecticut. If you have not looked into competitive power prices we strongly encourage you to do so. There is no reason to pay 12-20% more a month on your electric bills when you can easily save money by signing an electric contract with a reputable electric supplier.
For a list of electric suppliers in your area send us an email with your state and local utility company.
We are also seing electric rate savings in the following utility service areas: PSEG, ACE, JCPL, CPL, PPL, BGE, Delmarva, all of Texas
Maryland electric customers, both residential and business, are finding lower electric rates when they shop in the competitive market. Customers who are served by Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) and PEPCO are finding the greatest savings.
The exact rate and savings that you can find depend on your individual rate class by your utility and historic usage patterns, but most electricity customers in Maryland can save between 10-20%. As an example, current the current price to compare (default rate) for a BGE class G type 1 business customer is $0.1089 per kwh. We have found a 24 month fixed offer for such a customer at a rate of $0.092 per kwh, a 15 percent savings.
Most Maryland Utility companies, like BGE and PEPCO, offer consolidated billing options which means that customers will still receive their monthly electric bill from their same utility company if they choose to lock in a low fixed rate with a competitive electric supplier.
