Electricity

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Customers of PECO, PPL, Met-Ed, Penelec, Western Penn Power (Allegany), Duquesne Light, Penn Power, UGI Utilities, Pike County Light and Power, Wellsboro Electric, and Citizens Electric can choose alternative electricity suppliers. Pennsylvania recently transitioned to electric competition. PPL rate caps expired at the end of 2009 while PECO, Met-Ed, Penelec, and West Penn Power rate caps expired at the end of 2010. Pennsylvania's utilities sold their power plants to open the market to competition, and now only own the transmission anddistribution wires. Customers who do not choose an alternate electric provider receive default service from the utility. Most power for small business customers is bought through competitive auctions on a rotating basis, with a mix of long-term supply contracts and spot market purchases. This mixing of contracts is meant to mitigate power price volatility. For larger businesses, default service supply is bought on the wholesale spot market, with prices changing hourly.

 

Natural Gas

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The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission allows customers of PECO, Columbia Gas, Dominion Peoples Gas, Equitable Gas, National Fuel Gas, Philadelphia Gas Works, UGI Central Penn Gas (PPL Gas), UGI Penn Natural Gas, UGI Utilities-Gas Division, and TW Phillips Gas and Oil Company to choose an alternative natural gas supplier. Customers choosing an alternate gas supplier have their gas supply delivered by the local utility. Customers who do not choose an alternate gas supplier receive default supply service (referred to as “sales service”) from their utility. Sales Service consists of a “Commodity Charge” and a supply tracker called a “Gas Cost Rate” or “Gas Cost Adjustment Charge” to compensate the utility for arranging customer supply. The various components of the utility supply charge can change throughout the year.