PPL - Understand the market changes and utility rate increases
According to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), small and mid-sized business customers can anticipate up to a 36% rate increase from 2009's rates. The rate increases are a result of the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act, enacted in 1996, which froze PPL customers' electric rates at 1997 levels through the end of 2009. On January 1, 2010, PPL transitioned its rates to current market levels. Learn more about the changes.
Electricity Market Structure The State of Pennsylvania is open for competition for all customers with the exception of those that are served by a municipality or co-op utility. Pennsylvania customers may buy electricity from any supplier licensed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and certified in the service territory of their local distribution company. There is also the option to defer to the "default provider" at a published tariff rate that is set each year. With the exception of customers in the Pittsburgh area, this rate generally increases by about 1.5% each year. In Western Pennsylvania, customers can expect the Duquesne and Penn Power default supply rate to vary from year to year because it is pegged more closely to the wholesale electricity market.
For all other areas other then Duquesne and Penn Power, the utility supply service rates are fixed, and will escalate until they expire in the 2008-2011 timeframe, depending on when each individual distribution company's transition period is set to end. The difference in utility rate structures creates a pronounced difference in shopping rates amongst the state’s commercial and industrial customers.
About Switching in Pennsylvania As an electricity supplier in the State, Constellation NewEnergy is licensed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. To be eligible to switch to our services, your company must be located in one or more of these utilities' service territories: - Pennsylvania Power & Light (PPL)
- Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO)
- Duquesne Light & Power (DLP)
- Allegheny Power/West Penn Power
- Pennsylvania Power (Penn Power)
- MetEd/First Energy
- Penelec/First Energy
The first step in switching your business' electricity service to Constellation NewEnergy is completing an Electric Supplier Authorization form that allows us to gather historical electricity usage data from your utility. This data is necessary to analyze your power consumption patterns and to develop a proposal that is customized to the needs of your business.
You will then sign our retail Electricity Supply Agreement stating the specific product, your price for electric service, and the duration of the agreement. After our agreement is signed, the enrollment process is simple. Our local operations team will work to provide a seamless transition from the utility as your electricity accounts are transferred to our service.
The number of notification days required prior to your next meter read date, to switch from the utility to Constellation NewEnergy or from Constellation NewEnergy back to the utility, varies from utility to utility. Please see the chart below for your utility’s enrollment and drop date notification requirements. Utility | Enrollment with CNE Window (Days) | Return to Utility Window (Days) | Allegheny Power | 15 | 15 | Duquesne Light & Power | 16 | 15 | MetEd | 16 | 30 | Philadelphia Electric Company | 15 | 30 | Penelec | 15 | 16 | Pennsylvania Power & Light | 16 | 30 | Pennsylvania Power Company | 15 | 15 | If the utility is given less then the required days, your service will continue with your current electricity provider until the next month’s meter read date.
 authorization_midatlantic_utilities.pdf
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How to Switch