Compare Competitive Electric Rates to the PPL Price to Compare
Adversaries to Pennsylvania Energy Choice laws are increasingly finding it difficult to argue against the success of the state’s competitive power market. The Pennsylvania Power & Light service area in particular has consistently been one of the most successful energy choice markets in the world in regards to customer and supplier participation. Both customer and supplier participation has been largely influenced by the transparency of the PPL electricity default rate, better known as the Price to Compare.
Currently, there are more than a dozen rate plans listed on the energy price comparison site electricrate.com below the PPL default price to compare rate. Since January 1, 2010, the PPL Price to Compare for residential customers has only dropped below $0.07 one time in March of 2012. With current savings as high as 21% PPL customers have a high incentive to switch off of the default rate service and compare competitive PPL rates. The PA Office of Consumer Advocate has released statistics that show that lower competitive rates have resulted in 37.80% of PPL residential customers purchasing their power from a competitive supplier as of April 2023. Though the switch rate is high in comparison to other energy choice markets throughout the United States, there are still over 62% of customers who are paying substantially more than they need to on their monthly PPL electric bills.
What is the PPL Price to Compare?
The PPL Price to Compare is the default rate that PPL charges customers for power generations. In reality, the price to compare is determined in auction held by PPL for competitive electricity suppliers who bid to provide service for a certain percentage of customers in the PPL service area who do not shop for an electricity rate plan.
Through Pennsylvania electricity choice, PPL is still required to send the monthly electric bill to their customers. While the PPL bill will not state which competitive supplier is charging the customer for the price to compare rate, it is in fact being charged by a company other than Pennsylvania Power & Light. PPL collects the money and sends it over to the competitive supplier.
Starting in June of 2015, PPL began updating their Price to Compare twice a year. Prior to this the default rate was changed four times a year with the change only lasting three months. The longer duration provides suppliers with more time to react and implement marketing strategies in order to acquire or keep customers. When customers know what to compare competitive rates against, it makes it purchasing decision easier. Greater consistency in the PPL Price to Compare has resulted in greater awareness of energy choice knowledge.
Why Customers Should Compare Competitive Rates to the PPL Price to Compare?
Saving money on the PPL electric bill is the most popular reason customers take the time to compare electricity rate plans. When a competitive rate plan is selected by a PPL customer, that rate plan replaces the price to compare default rate. If the competitive rate plan is less than the price to compare, the customer will save money on their PPL electric bill.
Since PPL changes their price to compare twice a year, locking in a long term fixed rate for price security is another reason to compare competitive electric rates against the price to compare rate. Not only can customers save money right away, but they can protect themselves from a potential price hike if the default rate increases again during the competitive rate plan’s term. Even if the default rate happens to decrease slightly, many customers want to lock in a low fixed Pennsylvania electric rate for as long as possible in order to avoid any surprise price hikes caused by inflation or other market reasons.
Comparing PPL rates is the best way to decide on which rate structure is best for an individual’s personal needs. Suppliers change their rate offerings often, but comparison sites give consumers a platform to easily view plans at any given time.
How to Compare PPL Electric Rates
Using a reputable electricity price comparison site is the easiest way to compare different rate plans offered in the PPL service area. Below you can see available rate options offered by licensed electricity suppliers as well as the up to date PPL price to compare. The amount of savings versus the price to compare default rate are also displayed so that customers can see exactly how much money they can save.
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