By: Walt Frank |
The residential rate for electricity has increased from 5.97 cents per kilowatt hour to 6.29 cents per kwh, said spokesman Scott Surgeoner of FirstEnergy Corp., Penelec’s parent company.
The average residential customer who uses 750 kilowatt hours per month will see his bill increase from $102.01 to $104.41, Surgeoner said.
“This is just the typical fluctuation in the market we see entering the winter heating period. It is typical to see costs a bit higher,” Surgeoner said.
The power generation costs have fluctuated since Dec. 31, 2010, when electricity caps expired. The electric generation rate, which Penelec calls its price to compare, is updated quarterly. Electric bills are divided into two parts: the cost of generating electricity and the cost of transmission for maintaining electric lines, etc.
Consumers can choose their electric supplier. For the Altoona area, there are 52 providers in addition to Penelec. The other providers’ rates for the area, according to PAPower
Switch.com, range from Inspire at 4.69 cents per kilowatt hour (variable rate with no term length) to Blue Rock Energy Inc. at 15 cents per kilowatt hour (fixed rate for 12 or 24 months).
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.
