The public can comment on PPL Electric Utilities’ request for up to 7% higher rates during December hearings, state regulators announced Tuesday.
In Northeast Pennsylvania, hearings will take place in Lackawanna and Lehigh counties.
The hearings are:
- 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.
Other in-person hearings are scheduled for Harrisburg, Dauphin County, and Lancaster, Lancaster County.
You can comment by phone
The public may also comment during telephone hearings Dec. 15 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. The toll-free number to call is 866-421-8851. The personal identification number necessary to sign in is 66640466.
People who want to testify at telephone hearings should pre-register by 4 p.m. on Dec. 11 to ensure being called to testify.
To pre-register, call legal Assistant Pamela McNeal at 215-560-4228 or email her at pmcneal@pa.gov with your first and last name; the hearing for which you are registering; the phone number you will use to call in; a phone number where you can be reached before the hearing; and an email address if you have one.
PPL rates may rise by up to 7%
PPL announced Sept. 30 it would seek higher distribution rates for the first time in a decade to produce $356 million more in revenues a year, or 33.4% more.
According to the request, PPL wants higher rates to:
- More quickly improve system reliability and reduce outages, especially during major storms.
- Improve customer service, including payment options, customer service interactions, and service levels.
- Upgrade aging information technology equipment to improve cybersecurity, customer interactions and employee systems.
- Cover increased costs.
The utility partly blames the increase request on flat revenues from selling electricity to residential and commercial customers because of slow economic growth and increased levels of customer use of alternative energy sources.
The hike would increase rates for:
- Residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity see their monthly payments increase to $204.86 from $191.49, or by 7%.
- Commercial customers receiving default service from PPL and using 1,000 kilowatt-hours with a maximum demand of 3 kilowatts would see rates increase to $170.34 per month from $161.74, or by 5.3%.
- Industrial customers receiving default service from PPL and using 150,000 kilowatt-hours a month with a maximum demand of 500 kilowatts would increase to $20,480.18 from $19,965.77, or by about 2.6%.
The PUC voted 5-0 on Oct. 23 to suspend the proposed hikes to investigate if they are warranted. PPL provides service to almost 1.5 million customers in 29 counties in central and eastern Pennsylvania.
A final PUC decision on the request is due by July 1, 2026.
