PPL electricity customers continue to find savings on their electricity bills.

Since capped rates expired at the beginning of the year, more and more PPL customers have started to shop for third party electric suppliers to save money against the high PPL default electric rates.  People are discovering that there are significant savings available for taking the time to compare electric providers.

Businesses especially have benefited from the competitive electricity market.  Large businesses who spend over $10,000 a month are saving as much as 30 percent in some areas.  Meanwhile, PPL residential customers are saving a more modest 10-18 percent through various electric companies.

While PPL default electric rates are expected to decrease in 2011, current electric rates are well below the 2010 default prices and less than what the 2011 rates are expected to be.

The Pennsylvania competitive electric market has provided a number of product options for electricity consumers, including low variable rates and peace of mind fixed rates.

Right now, the lowest residential electricity offer is $0.08884 per kilowatt hour, a 15% savings off of the default rate.  That rate is being offered by Champion Energy, who recently won an award for Customer Satisfaction in Texas.  Champion offers consolidated billing in the PPL area, which means that their customers still receive their bill from PPL electric.  The only difference is that instead of paying the $0.1044 PPL rate for Generation and Transmission, they will pay $0.0884.  The delivery charges remain the same.

Residential electricity customers in the PSE&G utility area are finding significant savings on the electric bills.  The summer of 2010 is the first summer in New Jersey where there has been real electricity choice for residential consumers.  Though power choices are still limited compared to some other deregulated states (Texas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland) New Jersey customers have found that energy deregulation can be a good when attempting to have lower electricity bills.

The lowest option for PSEG residential customers can always be found on our electricity prices page.  We have seen rates as low as  10.75 compared to the PSEG default price to compare rate of 12.24 for the summer months of June through September.  Bigger households have to pay even more as their rates rise to 13.21 cents per kilowatt hour after the consume 600 KWH every month, which is about how much a 1 bedroom apartment would use in the summer.  These results in savings between 12-19%.

Here are the current rates we found (updated daily):

PSE&G residential rates will be about 12.27 from October 2010 to May 2011.  What most people don’t realize is that even after you switch electric companies and start paying a lower rate, you remain a PSEG customer as they continue to monitor the lines and wires for the electricity and the billing component.  So at the end of the day, the only thing that changes is that you pay a lower New Jersey electric bill.

Though participation in the New Jersey electric choice program has been slow when considering the significant savings available, things have started to pick up as more people start to realize the electric savings potential.

In Central Pennsylvania, electricity customers of PPL are finding that they can lower their monthly electric bill by comparing electricity companies and finding a competitive electric rate.

The price to compare rate for PPL residential customers, also known as the default supply rate, is $0.10448 per kilowatt hour.  The lowest fixed electric rate that we have been able to find for customers in the PPL area is $0.0889 per kilowatt hour, an easy way to save 15% off of the electricity bill.  To lock in these savings go to Champion Energy.  The plan locks in the low rate for 12 months.

A month-to-month variable rate with 11% savings versus the PPL price to compare rate is available with Verde Energy, also known as Low Cost Power.  They also have a $50 cash back bonus program when you sign up with them.

The price to compare rate is expected to be lower in 2011, but it is unlikely it will go well below 10 cents, if at all.  Competitive electric rate offers allow residential customers to lock in low fixed rates for up to two years, allowing protection from rates increasing drastically.

The electricity wholesale market is highly correlated with the natural gas market.  In recent years the natural gas market has been extremely volatile.  In Texas, where electricity has been deregulated since 2002, customers saw all time high electric rate prices in the summer of 2008 followed by some of the lowest rates just one year later in the summer of 2009.

Though Connecticut has some of the highest utility electricity rates in the country, many Connecticut Light and Power and United Illuminating Energy customers are discovering that shopping for lower electric rates can result in lower Connecticut electric bills.

The restructuring of Connecticut’s electricity market allows energy users to choose who supplies the generation component of their electricity bill.  Those customers who do not shop and compare electricity companies remain on the CLP or UI generation default electric rates.

Connecticut Light and Power (CLP) and United Illuminating (UI) continue to control the delivery component of the bill as well as the invoicing of the electric bill itself.  Choosing an alternative energy company to supply your electricity simply results in the rate on your bill changing so that you pay less and have a lower electric bill.

Connecticut electric rate payers are finding savings for their residential homes as much as fifteen percent, while commercial and industrial electric customers are saving as much as twenty-five percent.  If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to compare electric companies and find the lowest electric rates in Connecticut.

Philadelphia electricity users are customers of PECO energy, who provides electric supply service as well as electric delivery service for businesses and households in the city.  While PECO energy will remain the electric delivery company for these electric users, many customers will change their electric supply company in 2011 when PECO’s capped rates expire.

Starting January 1, 2011, commercial and industrial energy users in Philadelphia who do not choose an alternative energy company to supply their electricity needs will be on the PECO default electric rates.  Most businesses in Philadelphia will find in advantageous to shop and compare Pennsylvania electricity companies.

Large Commercial and Industrial electricity users in the PECO territory (whose KW demand is greater than 500KW) will pay a default price to compare rate of $0.0897 per kilowatt hour, if they elected to go with the fixed default electric rate.  If they did not elect for the fixed default rate, they will be forced to ride the volatile hourly ahead market rates.  Large electricity users in Philadelphia have bee offered fixed electric rates of $0.072 in recent weeks, a price 19.8 percent less than the PECO price to compare default rate.

Small and medium commercial customers in PECO will not know their exact price to compare rate until later in the year.  It is estimated it will be between $0.09 and $0.095 per KWh in 2011.  The number of electricity companies offering competitive rates to these customers will increase as 2011 approaches.  Savings are expected to be between 8-15% off of the price to compare default rates.

Update:  We have received numerous reports from our partners at Electric Rate that businesses are seeing significant savings with competitive peco commercial rates for contracts starting in 2011.

If you are looking for competitive electric rates for your home, we would recommend the below:

Jersey Central Power and Light (JCPL) electricity customers are seeing some of the lowest electric rates since the utility deregulated back in 2003.

The basic generation service, the JCPL default rate, will be $0.110285 per kilowatt hour from October 1, 2010 through May 31, 2011 for small and medium businesses.  From now through the end of September it will be even higher at $0.115462.  Solid 10-15% exist for these businesses who shop and compare commercial electric companies.

Meanwhile, New Jersey residential electric customers in JCPL are paying high default rates of $0.1172 a kilowatt hour.  For the first time since 2003, these electricity customers can save money by finding a lower electric rate through a competitive electric company.

Residential and business customers can find their current default electric rates on their JCPL bill at the top next to BGS Energy Charges and BGS Transmission Charges.  The combination of these two charges make up the total price to compare default rate.  When you choose a lower priced electric provider, their low electric rate will take the place of those two charges.

Depending on the electricity company, you will continue to receive one monthly electric bill from JCPL with the lower rate, or you might receive a bill from the electricity company for the supply charges and one from JCPL for the delivery charges.  Either way, you will save money as long as you sign for a electric rate that is lower than the JCPL BGS default electric rate.

Commercial and industrial electric rates change on a daily basis.  For a list of low commercial electric rates in New Jersey email us with the request and we will email you back a list of electricity companies and their electric rates.

A variety of electric rate products exist for PPL customers.  Many Pennsylvania electric consumers have chosen a variable electric rate since capped rates expired at the beginning of the year.  Most of these customers saw a sharp increase on their rates and electric bills last month.  The rise in electric prices was a direct result of spiking wholesale electricity prices.

Those customers who have chosen a fixed electric rate did not see such spikes last month.  Variable electric rate customers, both residential and commercial, may want to look into the security of a fixed electric rate as we approach the peak of hurricane season, which can have a negative effect on wholesale electricity prices.

PPL customers who have not switched electric companies for their supply service should shop in order to compare their options.  Pennsylvania Power and Light is still responsible for the delivery of power and the maintenance of the lines and wires.  However with default electric rates above 10 cents per kilowatt hour, it makes sense for all electric customers to compare electric rates in order to find savings.  Lower electric rates are yielding saving between 10 and 30 percent off of electricity bills for consumers and businesses.
Compare PPL Electric Rates:

Nearly 80,000 businesses in Connecticut are still paying default electric rates with either Connecticut Light and Power or United Illuminating Power Company.  That is 80,000 companies who are over paying for electricity by as much as 25% in some cases.

The generation rate that CLP charges their customers who have not chosen an alternative electricity supplier is 11.723 cents per kilowatt hour.  ElectricityWatch has found fixed rate offers as low as 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour, an easy way to save 19% on the electric bill.

Over 70% of Connecticut Light and Power residential electric customers are paying the generation default rate of 11.051 cents.  They too can secure a competitive generation electric rate of 9.5 cents and save money on their electric bill.

Email us for a list of commercial electric providers and rates in order to compare electric companies side by side.

Electric rate payers who are serviced by the utility Delmarva in Delaware are finding cheaper electric rates in the competitive market.  Both residential and commercial electric customers are discovering that the way to lower their electric bill is to find a low cost electricity company who is offering a fixed electric rate that is lower than the Delmarva Price to Compare rate.

Delmarva Power, the utility provider that serves the majority of Delaware, offers their Price to Compare rates as a default service for those customers who have not compared electric rates with other electricity companies.  Delmarva continues to serve as the lines and wires company in Delaware and thus is still responsible for the delivery of the power to homes and businesses.  Delmarva does not receive profits from offering default service to electricity consumers.  Delmarva is encouraging their customers to find lower electric rates and locking in the rates with alternative electricity suppliers.

By doing an electricity company comparison, customers can reduce their electric bills by 10-30% depending on their rate class, usage requirements, and electric rate product choice.  As an example, small general service customers, a rate class for small businesses in Delaware, are paying an electric default rate of 11.27 cents per kilowatt hour.  We have found fixed electric rates for such customers as low as 9.0 cents per kilowatt hour which translates into a 20 percent savings on the Delaware electric bill.

States that have decided to deregulate, or restructure, their electricity utilities are giving their consumers the opportunity to lower their electric bills.  Misunderstanding how to lower the electric bill has been a problem for some of these electric rate payers.

As a simple review, the electric bill is divided into two main sections; the delivery (lines and wires) section and the retail supply section.  The delivery section is the portion of the bill, usually between 20-30% of the total charge, that is paid to the utility company for delivering the power through the lines and wires.  These charges are still regulated by the state.

The energy charge, also called supply charge, makes up the majority of the bill and is the section that has been deregulated.  It is here where customers can lower their electric bill by finding an alternative electric company that will supply electric power at a lower price per kilowatt hour than the current default electric rate that the incumbent utility offers.

Most default rates are set for a specific period of time.  You can lower your electric bill by finding out how long the default rate will be at a certain amount per kilowatt hour and then finding an alternative provider who will offer a lower electric rate for that period.  For example, the default rate for customers who are served by the utility PPL in Pennsylvania is $0.10402 per kilowatt hour for the entire year of 2010.  Locking in a fixed rate of $0.09 per kilowatt for any period in 2010 will give the customer a lower electric bill by 13.5% off of the energy supply portion of the bill.  It might be wise to lock in a low electric rate for a period that goes beyond the expiration of the current default rate if you think energy prices are headed up.

States where you can currently lower your electric bill against the utility default rate include Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware.  There are also saving available in Texas if you have not shopped the competitive electric market within the past two years.