Shop and Save
Some people don’t want to hear another mention of the word “shopping” at this time of year. It’s a word you tend to hear an awful lot.
Still, you may be able to save money on your electric bill by spending a few thoughtful minutes shopping for your energy supply. You won’t have to go from store to store to find the right offer: All the information can be seen right at home.
Here’s how it works.
You can choose to buy your electricity from one of many suppliers serving this area. Or, you can let PPL Electric Utilities buy it on your behalf. Either way, we’ll deliver your power safely and reliably over our electric grid, and you’ll call us if there’s an outage or other service issue. About 45 percent of our customers buy power from another supplier.
We hold auctions to buy power for customers who don’t shop. Then, we pass the cost of the energy through to you with no markup or profit. Our price for electricity is called the “price to compare,” and we update it twice a year – on Dec. 1 and June 1.
All you need to do is visit the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s website at PAPowerSwitch.com. You can see how our price to compare stacks up against offers from other state-licensed suppliers. You may be able to find lower rates that can save you money. And who doesn’t like that, especially at this time of year?
The PAPowerSwitch website lists all the important information about each offer. Look carefully at the terms, especially these:
• Is the rate fixed or variable? (Fixed rates don’t change, while variable rates go up or down based on the wholesale price of electricity. If that price goes up – as has happened in very cold weather – variable-rate customers’ bills will go up with it.)
• How long will the contract last?
• Are there cancellation fees?
• If renewable energy is important to you: Does the contract draw any of its supply from renewable sources?
If you’ve reviewed all the terms and decided an offer is right for you, click the Sign Me Up For This Offer button and follow any additional prompts. PPL Electric Utilities and your new supplier will work together to do the rest.
And you can devote your shopping attention to more difficult choices – like what to get your uncle who has everything.
Article provided by Carol Obando-Derstine, Regional Affairs Director, PPL Electric Utilities, Phone: 610-774-5249, CObando-Derstine@pplweb.com.