PPL has posted their estimated price to compare electric rates for the first half of 2011.

The Pennsylvania utility estimates that their residential customers who are still on default electric service will pay $0.09426 cents per Kilowatt hour which is a penny less than what they are currently paying.  The exact rates won’t be known until December.  Once the exact rates are published it is our belief that the competitive suppliers will start offering a lower electric rate as well in order to attract customers who have been slow to adapt to the competitive market.

Small businesses are estimated to pay $0.09764, down from $0.10402.  Current fixed electric rates can be locked in between $0.080 and $0.085 for small business electricity customers.  Medium and large business customers have been able to negotiate rates in the $0.07s and in some cases even get down to the $0.06s.

The price to compare includes the generation and transmission portion of the PPL electric bill.  The delivery charges and still charged by PPL and regulated by the state.

Update: Residential rates are now very competitive in the PPL market, with savings upwards to 15%. Here are the best residential electricity prices we have found:

PECO Energy is a utility company who delivers electricity to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania.  On January 1, 2011 they will be increasing their rates by about 10%.

January 1, 2011 marks the expiration of rate caps that were enacted in 1997.  PECO energy customers will more than likely also see their generation rates increase as the capped rates expire and they move to PECO electric generation default rates.  Customers will be able to find lower generation electric rates with other electric companies.

It is important for people to understand that PECO Energy is still a regulated company.  PECO is responsible for the delivery of power to their customers, but they are not responsible for offering low generation rates.  People who wish to remain “loyal” to PECO by staying with their electric default rates are poorly misinformed.  Those who shop and buy lower electric rates with other electric companies will have lower electric bills, but they will still receive their monthly electric invoice from PECO.

PECO electricity customers will be able to offset the 10% increase that PECO is imposing on their delivery charges by shopping for lower generation electric rates, which makes up about two-thirds of the bill.

Best PECO Competitive Electricity Rates (updated daily):

On January 1, 2011 PECO electric customers will come off of decade long price caps and be subject to more recent market rates.  When this happens, customers will have the option to shop the competitive electric market for lower energy prices and multiple product options from 10-20 electric providers that are expected to be active as the calendar turns to 2011.

PECO will offer “Price to Compare” rates, or default rates, for those customers who are slow to shop the market.   These default rates will be determined by a series of auctions that will allow PECO to buy portions of the generation load that they will need to serve their customers at different times so that they are not subject to the electricity wholesale prices at any given time.  PECO is buying energy for their residential customers at four separate times.  Two of those auctions have already taken place with the final two set to occur in June and September of 2010.  After the first two auctions, the combined retail price secured is 9.41 cents per KWh.  PECO customers won’t know their exact price to compare, and how much those rates will be higher than what they are currently paying, until all four auctions have been completed.  At that point PECO residential customers can expect to see competitive electric providers market for their business.

Update:
PECO customers have been reporting great savings on their electricity bills in 2011.

Here are some obvious options for customers to switch to: