Everything to Know about the New Electric Choice ID Number for PECO Energy Customers in 2024
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New PECO Billing System Announced
On February 20, 2024 PECO Energy updated their billing system for “a better customer experience” as stated on their website. While that hopes to be the ultimate goal, in the short term the new system is expected to cause some confusion amongst customers, especially those who are active in the Pennsylvania electricity choice market and who actively shop and switch their competitive electricity supplier.
The new billing system will require customers to locate a new 10 digit number on their electric bill called the “Electric Choice ID Number” in order for them to switch to a different Pennsylvania competitive electricity company. Previously the 10 digit account number was used, but this will no longer be accepted as the number to use in a switch process.
PECO Account Number and PA Electric Choice
Ever since the PECO service area became a truly competitive electricity market in 2010, customers have slowly learned about the benefits of electric choice in Pennsylvania and the process to switch over to a competitive company. That process included identifying your 10 digit account number on your electric bill and entering it in on the enrollment form provided by the competitive supplier.
PECO energy had officially been deregulated and had an energy choice for several years prior to 2010, but it wasn’t until 2010 when the decade long fixed default rate expired for Philadelphia PECO customers that caused the electricity choice market to take off. The price expiration caused competitive suppliers to enter the PECO market as they could now offer rates below the new PECO price to compare default rate.
Unlike other utility service areas with new electricity choice markets, PECO Energy’s market flourished quickly largely due to the simplicity of switching to a competitive supplier. The 10 digit PECO account number was the only piece of information that a customer would not know off the top of their head, and this number was easy to find on the bill as it was stated clearly in a big box at the top of each page.
In other areas you might need to locate several numbers on the electric bill which weren’t easy to locate. This would often cause customers to put off the shopping process to later or to give up on it all together. For example, though savings had been very attractive in Connecticut’s Eversource service area for most of the last decade, shopping numbers have been relatively low compared to other markets such as PECO where the savings have been good, but more modest. Many believe the low shopping activity in Connecticut is due to the fact that customers need to locate not only their hard to find 11 digit account number, but also another 9 digit service reference number, and a 4 letter name key.
“The abundance of information gathering puts a huge speed bump on the shopping process”, says Todd Yasbin, the found of the energy price comparison website ElectricRate.com.
The abundance of information gathering puts a huge speed bump on the shopping process in electricity markets. The less information needed, the more likely a customer will take the time to switch. Customers want to switch, but they can't spend 30 minutes of their time combing through the small print on their electric bill to find exact numbers. The utilities should strive to make the switch process as easy as possible for the consumer, not the other way around.
New PECO Electric Choie ID Number
In March 2024 customers will start seeing a new 10 digit Electric Choice ID number on their PECO electric bill in addition to the old 10 digit PECO account number. The purpose of the Electric Choice ID number if for customers to switch competitive suppliers.
The Customer Choice ID is directly associated with a property, whereas the account number is associated with an individual person or business entity. Using the account number to process supplier switches had been causing some problems with the old billing system as people often move addresses and the account numbers associated with the person weren’t always being updated in real time. The new system will eliminate the majority of these errors as every property will have their own Electric Choice ID number.
See the image below to learn how to locate your Electric Choice ID when shopping.
Use the Electric Choice ID to Lower Your PECO Electric Bill
Don’t let the new PECO electric bill deter you from shopping for lower electricity rates. Competitive Pennsylvania electric rates are well below the PECO price to compare. You just need to take an extra 10 seconds to locate the new Electric Choice ID.
Some suppliers will still be collecting the PECO account number as there is a transition period where PECO will still accept the account number for switches. So if the enrollment form asks for the account number, continue to provide it and not the Electric Choice ID. Eventually all enrollment forms will ask for the Electric Choice ID, but for now some are still requesting the Account Number.
Having Trouble Finding Your New PECO Electric Choice ID?
If your having trouble finding the new PECO Electric Choice ID do not stress out. First, the new number won’t be on everyone’s electric bill right away. Most people will start to see it in either their March, April, or May electric bills for the first time. So if you don’t see it, likely it is because it’s not there yet.
If you are trying to enroll in a plan that requires the new Electric Choice ID and you can’t find it, simply go to the PECO Find New Account Number Page and enter in your old number and zip code and the system will provide you with your new number.
