PA Could See Up To 45% Increase In Electricity Cost This Summer

PENNSYLVANIA — Drastic increases in energy costs could be in the cards for Pennsylvanians as the weather heats up and the price of natural gas reaches record highs.

The state's Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced this week that most utilities will adjust their prices starting on June 1, as they do every year. But this year, given a unique set of circumstances, the rate hike will range between 6 percent and 45 percent, depending on the utility in question.

Natural gas prices have been steadily rising for months as demand for gas skyrockets, causing energy prices to spike in turn. Prices were already high before the Russian invasion of Ukraine threw the markets in chaos around the globe. Still, the threat of an up to 45 percent increase is a sobering reminder amid an economic climate already beset by the lingering aftereffects of the pandemic and inflation.

"Pennsylvania’s regulated electric utilities routinely adjust, either quarterly or biannually, the default service price they charge non-shopping customers for electric generation," the PUC explained in their announcement. "This price, also known as the “Price to Compare” (PTC), is what consumers use to compare prices and potential savings among competitive electric generation suppliers."

PUC advised residents to "carefully review" their electric bills between now and June 1 to understand what rates they might be paying.

In southeastern Pennsylvania, PECO has proposed a 9 percent increase. PECO already hiked rates by 6 percent during the last review of prices, on Dec. 1, 2021.

While it seems like a lot, other utilities are lining up to spike their rates notably higher:

• Citizens’ Electric, 26.6 percent
• Met-Ed, 16.1 percent
• Penelec, 35.4 percent
• Penn Power, 22.7 percent
• PPL, 38.3 percent
• Wellsboro Electric, 23.7 percent
• West Penn Power 44.6 percent

The PUC recommends the public utiltize PAPowerSwitch.com to research other competitive offers.