StupiderIdjit OP t1_jd7qlbz wrote on March 22, 2023 at 1:20 PM

Reply to comment by [deleted] in PA PUC is still investigating PPL's billing practices by StupiderIdjit

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."

ronreadingpa t1_jd7tn6l wrote on March 22, 2023 at 1:43 PM

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.

pa_bourbon t1_jdb5zd1 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 3:11 AM

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

Kristin2349 t1_jdc93ae wrote on March 23, 2023 at 11:14 AM

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.