commentary: Use your power as consumers to shop for electricity in PA
Reprinted from Pennsylvania Capital-Star 06-23-25
By John Hanger, former Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner
As the summer heat moves in, thermostats are turning down. Cooling our homes is a natural reaction that we don’t tend to think much about –– until the electric bill shows up.
June not only kicked off summer, but with it came new electric rates for all utility customers as prices jumped on the heels of the PJM capacity auction price increase. This prompted the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to issue a press release advising energy users of tips to shop for their electricity.
Why? Because that’s where customers can find savings.
Aside from adjusting your thermostat to conserve electricity, the only control Pennsylvania consumers have over their electric bill is their electric supply –– the product that actually powers their home. What most people don’t realize is they have options to shop for different suppliers, just like they shop for other products and services. And the savings can be significant.
In the early 1990s, when I was commissioner with the PUC, Pennsylvania was dealing with rolling blackouts and high electric rates. The Commission knew action had to be taken to improve the energy market for consumers.
In 1996, after working with the legislature, the Electricity Generation Competition and Customer Choice Act was signed into law by Governor Tom Ridge. This solution broke up the utility monopolies in the state and welcomed competition to generate and supply electricity. This freed customers to choose the products they wanted and for the prices that worked best with their budget. It also meant all suppliers had to compete for business –– including utility companies.
After nearly 30 years of energy competition, it was time to analyze electricity prices to see if competition is still working. What I found is pretty eye-opening and should serve as a positive reminder that Pennsylvania leaders took –– and have preserved –– the best course of action to protect energy customers.
Here’s what I uncovered.
In three utility service territories, customers could have been paying less for their electricity supply in 2024 than what they paid in 1996, if they shopped for the lowest fixed-rate offer in those areas. This means the customers in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas could have, respectively, paid $9 and $14 less a month in 2024 compared to what they paid in 1996.
That’s without even adjusting for inflation.
When inflation is factored in, statewide, customers who shopped for their electricity in 2024 were paying, on average, 26 percent to 67 percent less than they would have in 1996 for supply charges. In the Duquesne Light territory, that’s a $53 difference –– a $56 difference in the PECO territory.
Moreover, actual utility supply rates in 2024, paid by customers who do not shop, are less than what the 1996 inflation-adjusted rates are.
Transmission towers that carry high-voltage electricity are shown on March 8, 2025, in East China Township, Michigan. Ontario, Canada Premier Doug Ford put a 25 percent tariff on electricity that the province provides to Michigan, Minnesota, and New York beginning March 10 as a response to the tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on goods from Canada. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Transmission towers that carry high-voltage electricity are shown on March 8, 2025, in East China Township, Michigan. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
All Pennsylvania electricity customers are benefiting from energy competition, whether they shop or not. And the benefits expand beyond price.
Customers today have access to products and plans that have been driven by competition working to deliver new innovations in order to earn the business of customers. More importantly, Pennsylvania hasn’t seen a rolling blackout due to inadequate generation or supply since 1994 –– two years before the competition legislation was signed into law.
As consumers, we shop around for just about everything. But all too often, we default to an electric service without knowing there are options. The PUC is right in promoting tips and information for customers to find savings by shopping on PAPowerswitch.
With energy choice the power is in the hands of consumers.
Use it.
John Hanger served as a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner for five years before serving under two Pennsylvania Democratic Governors in their administrations as a Secretary of Environmental Protection and a Secretary of Planning and Policy.