Small businesses who are still on the PP&L generation default rate will likely see a significant increase on their electric bills in December. PP&L has announced that their default generation electricity rates, known as the price to compare, will likely increase by 14% on December 1, 2013. The exact increase will not be known until late November as the price to compare rates are based on an auction process whose outcome is largely dependent on the wholesale electricity market at the time of the auction. However the estimated number have been consistently accurate, making the 14% electric bill increase for small businesses serviced by PP&L highly probable. The default rate in December is expected to be 8.686 cents.

The rate increase will only occur for those businesses who have not shopped for competitive electric rates and are still paying the utility default rate for generation and transmission. Companies who have immersed themselves into Pennsylvania electricity choice and have locked in fixed electric rate contracts will continue to pay the price for power as stipulated in their contracts.

Business electricity customers who have not yet found a competitive power company still have time to lock in a low fixed rate and protect themselves from the December rate increase. Currently in Pennsylvania customers can only switch off of default service and onto a competitive rate structure on their scheduled meter read date. In addition, at least eleven days are needed for processing prior to the switch date. Companies with meter read dates towards the beginning of the month would want to lock in a fixed rate with a competitive electricity company before November 20th at the latest to prevent the December rate increase.

Below are a collection of Pennsylvania commercial electricity rates gathered from several companies. The enrollment process can occur online and takes only a few minutes. Lock in a low PP&L commercial rate as soon as possible in order to prevent your company from paying the higher December default rate.

Compare PP&L Business Electricity Rates:

September 18, 2013

Already one of the most successful electricity choice markets in the country, Pennsylvania could get a boost in their number of power shopping customers due to recent utility rate increases. The state’s second largest electric utility, and most active service utility market in regards to number of shoppers, has increased their default electricity rates by 18.5% since May. Pennsylvania Power & Light (PP&L) raised their price to compare default rates to 8.227 cents from 7.4 cents on June 1. Another rate increase to 8.77 cents went into effect for the 57% of PP&L residential customers who are still buying their power from the utility’s default rate service program.

In terms of number of residential customers currently purchasing their power from a competitive supplier PP&L is Pennsylvania’s most active choice utility market. Currently 534,341 residential customers encompassing 43% of the total residential class has elected to shop for lower PP&L electricity rates found through third party suppliers. Customer who have locked in fixed electric rates with alternative energy companies will not be affected by these rate increases. Customers who are still on the PP&L default rate can prevent the rate increase by locking in a low fixed electric rate available in the competitive market. Competitive electricity prices replace the PP&L default rate on the electric bill offering easy-to-see savings.

Many residential customers who have not shopped for competitive electric rates are intimidated by the number of offers being solicited to them from numerous energy companies who they have never heard of before. Customers should take ease in the fact that all energy companies offering them service are licensed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. They should however be careful of deceitful marketing practices that offer a teaser rate that quickly jumps up after the initial month of service. Below is a list of electricity rate offers pre-screened by electricitywatch.org, all prices are apples-to-apples comparisons to the PP&L default rate.

Energy choice participation is picking up in the Baltimore Gas & Electric service area as consumers are becoming more aware of legislation that allows them to shop for competitive electric rates. Competitive electricity companies have entered the Maryland electric choice market in hopes of gaining market share by offering low electric rates and alternative green energy options. The infusion of new competitive electricity companies is helping to spread the word about customer choice, but finding the best BGE electricity prices for your home and can be difficult if you don’t know where to start.

One of the easiest ways to find the best BGE electricity rate is to use a electricity price comparison site that allows you to easily look at different offers side by side. Similar to price comparison sites in the travel industry that allows consumers to compare flight and hotel rates with a click of the mouse, electricity comparison sites force energy companies to offer their very best electricity prices. Some other factors that energy customers will look for are the length of the contract, amount of green energy used, enrollment bonus offers, an early termination fees.

Often in a newly deregulated electricity market, consumers are slow to compare and switch electric rates due to them not fully understanding the benefits. The primary reason most people begin their research into finding the best Baltimore & Gas Electricity rate is to save money. Maryland consumers have been quick to adapt to electricity choice as the savings have been significant.

Look for the current best BGE electricity price below.

PECO Energy has announced that their default supply electricity rates will increase on September 1, 2013. The increase will be about a full penny per kilowatt hour higher than the rate that was charged during the summer, resulting in a $10 per month increase for a home that uses 1,000 KWh in a month.

The power rate increase will only occur for those PECO Energy customers who have not shopped for competitive electricity. To date only 31% of PECO residential customers are buying their electricity from a alternative energy supplier, meaning that the rate increase will take place for 69% of customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. The rate increase has presented a savings opportunity for these default paying customers. The increased PECO rates combined with lower competitive electric rates gives customers the chance to save money on their electric bill if they are willing to spend a few minutes shopping for competitive power rates.

Many customers have chosen to lock into long term fixed rate electricity agreements with energy companies that will not only protect themselves from the rate increase that will take effect in September, but also protect them from future potential rate increases. Many energy analysts are forecasting energy prices to increase from now throughout 2014 making now an idea time to lock in low fixed electric rates.

In 2006, Carrollton, Texas was named one of America’s Top 100 Places to live by Relocate America and the 19th best place to live in the United States by Money magazine. In 2008, it achieved the honor again by Money as the 15th best place among small cities. Forbes rated Carrollton 12th among the 25 top places to move. The city is technically found in Dallas, Denton and Collin counties. The entire city is found within the Oncor electric utility territory, which is part of the Texas Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

ERCOT is recognized as many industry experts as the most successful electricity choice market in the World. Oncor is the largest utility within ERCOT, and is in charge of delivering power to all customers in the Dallas and Forth Worth area, reaching as far west as Odessa, and going all the way south to Round Rock located 15 miles North of Austin. While Carrollton electricity customers can choose between over 40 electricity companies to supply their electrity, Oncor is still solely responsible for power delivery in the city.

Carrollton, Texas owes much of its early success as a community to mills and railroads. The Dallas-Wichita Railroad came first, then was purchased by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. Then the St. Louis Southwestern Railway crossed the Missouri-Kansas-Texas making Carrollton a shipping center for agricultural products. After World War II the city began to boom. Then the city grew more rapidly in the 1970s when the suburban growth from North Dallas spilled into the town.

Carrollton, Texas has a humid subtropical climate. The warmest month on average is July where Carrolton residences often see their electric bills double from the mild spring months. The highest recorded temperature was 112F in 1980, the lowest was 1F in 1989. The most precipitation happens in May.

People ranging in age from 25 to 44 make up the highest demographic in the city, with ages 45 to 64 following close behind. Over 5,000 businesses call Carrollton home. In general, people working in Carrollton are working in industrial, medical/pharmaceutical and energy jobs. Halliburton employs over 1,300 people with the North American operations for Easywell. McKesson pharmaceutical company has over 800 employees. Thomson Reuters also has an office in Carrollton. The city also has the home offices of Motel 6, FASTSIGNS International, and Sandy Lake Amusement Park. The city plays host to over 1,000 acres of developed park land for all to enjoy.

Though Pennsylvania has had an active energy choice market for several years, only recently have customers living in the Meted utility service area seen the benefits. As a result of rising Meted generation and transmission rates, competitive electricity suppliers have started offering low electric prices to customers with properties in the Meted service area.

As the fourth largest power utility in Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Edison serves over a half million residential electricity customers, all of which are now able to shop and compare Met-Ed electricity rates in order to save money. Many competitive energy suppliers were slow to enter the Met-Ed market because the default rates in the area had been low over the past couple of years. This price environment did not allow for competitive rates to offer savings to Met-Ed consumers which is often needed in a newly deregulated market in order to stimulate shopping. With the default rate recently increasing and competitive power rates dropping, the opportunity for competitive electricity suppliers has finally arrived and the result has been lower Met-Ed electric bills for consumers who take the time to power shop.

Current competitive electricity rates are providing significant savings to Met-Ed residential electricity customers. The switching process in Met-Ed simply requires a consumer to choose a competitive electric rate and enroll either online or by phone. Once the switch request is in you can expect the new electric rate to kick in at the next available scheduled meter read date. After that you simply get your Met-Ed electric bill as usual with the competitive electric rate replacing the Met-Ed default price to compare rate.

On June 1, 2013 Pennsylvania Power & Light customers who have remained on the electric default rate got a significant rate increase that will show up when these consumers receive their electric bills in July. The PP&L price to compare rate jumped from 7.4 cents to 8.227 cents as calendar pages turned from May to June. PP&L electric rates have been very volatile since the start of Pennsylvania electricity choice. At times competitive rates have showed savings as high as 25% versus the PPL price to compare, while in recent months few competitive suppliers were able to offer savings versus the default price.

The PP&L price to compare is the default rate consumers pay for generation and transmission charges who do not shop for competitive power. The price changes every three months and is often very difficult to predict. Even when PP&L does post an estimated price to compare for the next three month period it has proved to not be an accurate forecast. The majority of PPL customers who have done an electricity switch and who are buying their power from an alternative supplier do so because of the savings they get at that specific time period. However, for more customers the benefits of electricity choice is becoming just as much about price security and certainty as the instant savings. Consumers who locked in fixed electric rates last fall to save money during that time may have been slightly disappointed when PPL announced a default rate reduction from March through May of this year. However now they are saving money once again when electric bills will be at a premium in the hot summer months. These customers do not have to be concerned with this PPL rate hike or the potential of another one in three months since they locked in a low fixed electricity rate.

As of May 29, 2013 over 527,000 residential PP&L electricity customers are purchasing their power from competitive energy companies. This number actually decreased slightly from the all time high achieved in March of 2013 due to the low PPL default rates over the last several months. With the recent rate hike in effect that number is expected to grow. With 42.8% of the residential class active in electricity shopping the idea of electric choice in Pennsylvania is no longer a foreign idea. The market has become once of the most competitive energy choice markets in the country with new suppliers entering almost every month offering low electricity prices and sometimes additional incentives.

Current competitive PP&L electricity prices can be found below.

More than 360,000 electricity customers in western Pennsylvania will see a 16.8% increase on their West Penn Power electric bills this summer. West Penn Power, a electric utility company who services around 550,000 residential power consumers, will increase their generation supply rate from 5.386 cents to 6.29 cents. The substantial electric rate increase will only apply to those West Penn Power customers who have not shopped the competitive marketplace for lower power rates. These customers pay a default rate for power supply known as the Price to Compare.

Electricity customers can avoid this price increase by finding a low electric rate offered by a competitive supplier. Through Pennsylvania electricity choice, when a customer chooses to buy their power from a competitive supplier the competitive rate replaces the utility price to compare. West Penn Power, formerly known as Allegheny Power, has had low default price compare rates over the last two years that has kept the overall switch rate in the area below 30 percent. However, with the default rate now poised to increase by almost 17 percent, the number of West Penn Power shoppers is expected to increase exponentially.

When shopping for lower electric rates in West Penn Power, make sure that the rate is an apples to apples comparison to the West Penn Power price to compare. The rate should include generation, transmission, the gross receipts tax (GRT), and should not have any additional monthly fees or switching fees.

The number of PSEG electricity customers who are purchasing their power from competitive suppliers remains below 14% as of May 2013. Though the number of competitive power shoppers has steadily increased, the overall electric switch numbers are low compared to other competitive power markets in the United States. The slow number of shoppers has occurred despite rising PSEG default rates and low competitive electricity rates that are yielding electric bill savings above 20% in some cases.

For those PSEG power customers who have accepted New Jersey electricity choice into their lives, the result has been lower PSEG electric bills and price security into the near future. There are currently 246,000 residential customers in the PSEG service area buying their power from competitive energy companies out of 1,835,000 households in the area. These consumers have taken the time to compare electricity rate offers and find the best offer that fits their specific needs.

Many people have pointed to the slow growth of the New Jersey electric choice market to the limited marketing the state has implemented to educate their citizens. In contract, the Texas and Pennsylvania state governments have marketed electric choice with consumer friendly websites. In both states residential electricity switch percentages are hovering around 50%.

Others have pointed to the difficulty in finding the correct identification number on the PSEG electric bill to submit a switch request. In Pennsylvania the number needed to submit a switch request for the two largest electric utilities PPL and PECO Energy, is a simple 10 digit account number clearly visible at the top of the electric bill on every page. In contrast, the number needed for PSEG electric switch requests is the POD ID number which is an 18 digit number that follows the letters “PE” and can only be found in one small place situated mid-page. Some elderly consumers have complained that once they actually find the number the print is too small to even read. Furthermore, if PSEG also provides gas to the customer, a second POD ID exists on the bill for gas service which the customer often confuses as the electric POD ID.

Though electricity choice in New Jersey has had its hurdles, the private sector has stepped in to help push the ball that is already rolling slowly. Competitive suppliers are offering lower electricity prices and information sites such as NJelectricity.org have been developed to help educated New Jersey consumers about their energy choice options.

Competitive PSEG electricity rates updated daily:

Energy choice is bringing thousands of consumers lower energy bills in cities across the country who have embraced electricity and natural gas competition. Some areas are seeing larger savings dependent on a number of issues including how the specific state’s energy choice bill was written and how the local utility purchases their power supply for default paying customers, or consumers who are slow to shop for lower competitive electric rates.

Pennsylvania electricity customers in the Duquesne Light area are seeing some of the best electric rate shopping opportunities in the history of energy choice. Duquesne Light delivers power to over 560,000 residential customers in western Pennsylvania in the Pittsburgh area and suburbs. Customers in this area who remain on the Duquesne Light Price to Compare – the default rate structure that non-choice participants pay for power – can enter into an fixed electric rate contract with a competitive supplier that is over 30% lower; simply put, they can save over 30% on their Duquesne Light electric bill.

To date, over 44% of Duquesne Light residential customers have taken the time to search, find, and compare electric rates. These customers are enjoying electric bills that are 30% lower than if they hadn’t taken a few minutes to search for the best Duquesne Light electric rate. All else considered, the switch percentage in western Pennsylvania is healthy and high enough to ensure that Pennsylvania electric choice remains constant in the state. However, this also means that close to 56% of the residential electric bills that Duquesne Light sends out every month are missing out on a huge savings potential.

Here are a list of some of the best Duquesne Light electric rates, updated everyday: