By: DAVID FALCHEK |
PPL Electric Utility’s price to compare will drop Sept. 1, but the benchmark rate remains higher than more than a dozen energy marketers offering fixed rate power to PPL customers.
A household using 700 kilowatts of electricity per month and relying on PPL Electric Utilities’ default electricity, will see its monthly bill drop $1.55, or 2.5 percent from $63.25 to $61.70.
The underlying charge per kilowatt hour, the price to compare, will drop from the current 9.04 cents to 8.81 cents.
The decline comes as the weather cools.
In general, electricity prices drop as fall approaches, said PPL Spokesman Bryan Hay.
“As we head into the shoulder months of September and October electricity demand drops as fewer people are running large appliances to keep stay cool,” he said.
For those who do shop, the PPL rate to compare offers a benchmark rate against which to evaluate offers from energy suppliers. The rate is a direct pass-through of the amount PPL pays for power it obtains on the open market. The company does not profit from it.
According to a recent review of the 94 offers from power suppliers available to customers in PPL’s service area listed on www.papowerswitch.com, more than a dozen companies offer fixed rates less than PPL’s new price to compare.
The lowest fixed rate offered comes through PPL Corp.’s energy marketing arm, PPL EnergyPlus, at a rate of 8.21 cents through Dec. 31, 2015. Other low cost providers include Con Edison Solution with 8.22 cents per kilowatt hour and Great American Power, at 8.29 cents.
Despite the savings available, just 45 percent of PPL’s residential customers have selected an alternate power supplier as of Aug. 20.
After a number of customers who signed up for variable rate plans saw rates triple or quadruple, regulators urged customer to exercise special scrutiny when considering variable rate plans, which can soar unexpectedly and with little warning.
