Hours, seasons to remain the same for new year; prices change
ALLENTOWN, PA – PPL Electric Utilities is now accepting enrollment in its residential and small-business time-of-use pricing options for 2011.
The options, first offered in 2010, give customers an opportunity to spend less for generation than they otherwise would with PPL Electric Utilities’ default service, depending on the time they consume electricity.
Generation is just one piece of customers’ electric bills. It accounts for more than two-thirds of the typical customer’s electric bill and covers PPL Electric Utilities’ costs to purchase power for customers who don’t switch to another supplier.
With time-of-use pricing, customers pay more for generation during peak hours, when market prices for electricity are higher. They pay less during all other hours. By comparison, customers on traditional rates pay the same generation price around the clock.
Under a plan recently approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the peak hours for most residential customers will remain 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday during non-summer months (October through May). Summer peak hours for these customers will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. June through September. All other hours are considered off-peak.
Prices have been set for the first five months of 2011. Residential participants will pay 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for generation and transmission combined during peak hours and 6.1 cents per kilowatt-hour for these services during all other hours. These are the price to compare amounts for the residential time-of-use option.
These prices will change June 1. Summer prices, which are typically much higher, will not be known until around May 1 and will be posted on www.pplelectric.com when available.
These time-of-use pricing options are possible because of investments the company has made in advanced metering in recent years. PPL Electric Utilities is able to track monthly, daily and hourly electric usage information for all of its customers. Being able to track hour-by-hour power use and bill customers accordingly is essential for time-of-use pricing.
Pricing and hours are different for small businesses and customers on the company’s closed Residential Thermal Storage rate schedule. To view time-of-use pricing for these customers, visit www.pplelectric.com/tou.
Customers can also consider different pricing options and contract terms that may be available from other suppliers. Half a million PPL Electric Utilities customers have switched to other suppliers. Residential customers can visit papowerswitch.com or call the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate at 1-800-684-6560 to compare supplier offers to PPL Electric Utilities’ price to compare. Businesses can visit papowerswitch.com for a list of licensed suppliers.
Customers can enroll in the time-of-use option by visiting www.pplelectric.com/tou or calling 1-800-342-5775.
PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), provides electric delivery services to about 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania and has consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. More information is available at www.pplelectric.com.
