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[deleted] t1_jd7pn9t wrote

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pa_bourbon t1_jdb5thy wrote

Electric rates spiked dramatically in the last year. PA generates a lot of electricity with natural gas. Natural gas prices spiked due to the war in Ukraine. It’s a global market.

Natural gas has plunged recently. A downward adjustment is coming. If you have your distribution utility as your supplier, by PUC regulation they make no money on the commodity. It’s a straight pass thru at the cost they pay the generator.

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[deleted] t1_jdc8sva wrote

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pa_bourbon t1_jdc9p1p wrote

That’s not how power works. You really don’t know where your electricity is generated.

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[deleted] t1_jdccphn wrote

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pa_bourbon t1_jdcfbsb wrote

That’s not how they price the commodity though. It’s a bundle price based on the average of all sources of generation that are purchased by a given distribution company.

You don’t consciously choose the plant that generates your power. The distribution utility buys from one to many sources to keep the grid fed with power based on demand. Plants like nuclear power plants provide the stable base load in most cases. Some gas and even coal plants do the same in some areas. More gas and coal plants are fired up as “peaking plants” as demand rises and falls throughout the day.

The price you pay is based on the average of all sources used by your distribution company and is regulated by the PUC. The distribution company makes no money on the electricity it purchases by PUC regulation. It’s a straight pass through. The monthly flat rate customer charge and the other distribution charges on the bill cover their costs and generate their profit. The profit is also regulated by the PUC as part of the rate making process.

The only way to sort of get close to picking your generating source is to buy from a “green” supplier. But even many of these turn out to be scams.

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StupiderIdjit OP t1_jd7qlbz wrote

They said I used 1800 kWh Feb '22. I live in an 800 sqft apartment. A year later, Feb 2023, I used half as much and paid more. To which the person on the phone replied, "See? Everything's fine. Your usage is down from last year (but still very high)."

...to which I replied, "Now I think you've just been ripping me off for more than a year."

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ronreadingpa t1_jd7tn6l wrote

PPL's default supply rate has about doubled since last year. Distribution also increased plus a new 5% system improvement charge on top of that.

I've been harping on PPL's steep default supply rate increases for a while. More to the point, I believe PPL's related companies and/or insiders are profiting by shifting customers to suppliers they have an interest in. Doubt the PUC will investigate it on their own, but hoping someone else does.

As for the usage part, could be related to the billing problems they had. Alternatively, could be due to circuits outside of your unit (outside lights, misc outlets, another unit, etc) being connected to your meter. Not overly common, but does happen. PPL may be able to provide historical data, but will mostly need to rely on the landlord for assistance and/or have an electrician to check it out.

Or the meter itself could be programmed wrong and multiplying the actual usage by some incorrect factor. In such an instance would be off by 10X or 100X, but lower multiplier is possible. Ask PPL to send someone out to verify the meter is set up correctly and functioning properly.

In short, many PPL bills with them as the default supplier have roughly doubled since last year due to the rate increases alone.

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pa_bourbon t1_jdb5zd1 wrote

Rates spiked due to the dramatic increase in natural gas prices globally (Ukraine-Russia war). We generate a lot of electricity from natural gas.

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Kristin2349 t1_jdc93ae wrote

The PUC mandates that utilities negotiate for their default rate at times that were pre-set by each utility. PPL does so every 6 months, MetEd/First Energy does so quarterly. It is done by closed bid. PPL doesn’t shift customers to suppliers the PUC won’t allow it even when doing so would demonstrably save the consumer money. If you are using PPL as your default supplier you ignored their many warnings last year that rates were set to increase and to lock in a new rate. You can get as low as 9cents per Kwh shopping your rate.

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