In a time when inflation hits the pockets of every consumer, the largest provider of electricity in the city and region has put out a slight price decrease.
It is only a cent or penny per kilowatt hour for PPL customers but that penny less accumulates, especially in cold, winter weather.
On August 20, 2021, PPL reached an agreement with a group of industrial customers to reduce its transmission return on equity (ROE), said Tracie Witter, a PPL regional affairs director.
“While we believe our return on equity was just and reasonable, we reached a settlement to lower it which subsequently lowers the transmission component of our electric bills,” she said.
“We believe this settlement is in the best interest of both our customers and
shareholders because it lowers customer bills while still providing competitive returns for our shareholders.”
The electric rate savings, based on that agreement, have already begun to partially impact customer bills as of Dec. 1, when the new Price to Compare rate went into effect.
Because of the rising cost of natural gas and other energy supply sources, PPL customers saw an increase in the Price to Compare as of Dec. 1. And, for the residential and business customers, the initial savings from the ROE settlement did not offset the separate increase in supply cost in the Price to Compare.
A second portion of that settlement will be implemented over the course of five months, and began on Jan. 1, Witter said.
As a result, the Price to Compare will be reduced to $0.08941/kWh for residential customers (down from $0.09502/kWh) and $.09675 for business customers (down from $0.10285/kWh).
That is the utility’s new rate for residential customers.