Residents of Pennsylvania will have an opportunity to express their views on PPL Electric Utilities’ proposed rate increase of up to 7% during public hearings this December, as announced by state regulators.
These hearings will occur in various locations across Northeast Pennsylvania, specifically in Lackawanna and Lehigh counties.
Scheduled hearings include:
- Dec. 8, 6 p.m., University of Scranton, Brennan Hall, Rose Room, 5th Floor, 320 Madison Ave., Scranton, Lackawanna County.
- Dec. 9, 6 p.m., Catasauqua Municipal Building, Borough Hall, 90 Bridge St., Catasauqua, Lehigh County.
Additional in-person hearings are planned for Harrisburg, Dauphin County, and Lancaster, Lancaster County.
You can comment by phone
For those unable to attend in person, telephone hearings will also be available on Dec. 15 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. To participate, dial the toll-free number 866-421-8851, using the personal identification number 66640466 to log in.
Those wishing to give testimony by phone must pre-register by 4 p.m. on Dec. 11. Pre-registration can be completed by contacting legal Assistant Pamela McNeal at 215-560-4228 or by emailing her at pmcneal@pa.gov with the necessary details including your full name, the specific hearing you are registering for, your call-in phone number, an alternative contact number, and an email address if available.
PPL rates may rise by up to 7%
On September 30, PPL announced a request to raise distribution rates for the first time in ten years, seeking to generate an additional $356 million annually, an increase of 33.4%.
The proposal outlines several objectives for the rate increase:
- Accelerating system reliability improvements to minimize outages, particularly during significant storms.
- Enhancing customer service, including payment methods, interactions, and overall service quality.
- Modernizing outdated IT infrastructure to bolster cybersecurity and improve customer and employee systems.
- Addressing rising operational costs.
The proposed hike is partly attributed to stagnant revenue from electricity sales to residential and commercial clients, attributed to sluggish economic growth and increased customer adoption of alternative energy.
The rate adjustments would impact different customer categories:
- Residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month would see their bills rise from $191.49 to $204.86, marking a 7% increase.
- Commercial customers utilizing 1,000 kilowatt-hours with a peak demand of 3 kilowatts would experience a monthly rate increase from $161.74 to $170.34, a 5.3% rise.
- Industrial customers consuming 150,000 kilowatt-hours monthly with a peak demand of 500 kilowatts would see costs go from $19,965.77 to $20,480.18, representing an increase of approximately 2.6%.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted unanimously on October 23 to suspend the proposed increases, pending a thorough evaluation of their validity. PPL serves nearly 1.5 million customers across 29 counties in central and eastern Pennsylvania.
The PUC is expected to render a final decision on the rate request by July 1, 2026.
