Pennsylvania's Competitive Electricity Market Has Strong Consumer Protections

A competitive market provides consumers with choice. While competition is part of the everyday experience for many things like cable and cell phones, shopping for electricity is not common practice for most consumers.

In Pennsylvania, consumers have had the option of choosing their electric service provider for nearly 25 years, as part of the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act of 1996.

Since then, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) has implemented several regulatory changes over the years to enhance consumer protections, ensure reliability and to move electric competition forward.  Below is a list of strong consumer protections that electric generation suppliers (EGSs) must comply with, to do business in the Commonwealth.  

Enhanced Consumer Protections

• A separate, one-page electric generation supplier (EGS) contract summary along with the full disclosure statement to ensure EGSs highlight key terms and conditions in a uniform, consistent manner.

• A clear statement of the price per kilowatt hour for the first billing cycle of electric generation.

• Two separate mailings for fixed-term contracts that are expiring or being renewed, or any proposed changes to terms of service, including a “Initial Notice” and customer “Options Notice” sent prior to the expiration of a contract or change in terms.

• A renewed emphasis on highlighting changes in pricing or any terms and conditions — including a fixed rate becoming a month-to-month fixed rate that includes a 30-day notice of any price change.

• Prominent marking on front of the “Options Notice” envelope clearly stating that it contains important information regarding the expiration or changes in terms of a customer’s electric supply contract.

• Prohibition against changing the price for a residential or small commercial fixed price contract without customer affirmative consent.

• Reducing the time it takes customers to change electricity suppliers, allowing customers to switch in just three business days (under previous regulations, it could take up to 40 days to switch electric suppliers, whether changing suppliers or moving to or from the utility for electric supply).

• Improvements to the PAPowerSwitch website to provide consumers with new educational tools, including videos and more information about supplier offers.

• More contractual information on conditions of price variability, including whether there are limits on variability.

• Customer access to historical pricing information.

These changes are designed to provide additional information and greater protections for residential and small business customers choosing a competitive supplier for their electric generation. 

Consumer education on how to shop, how to read an electric bill, what to look for in a plan, and how to measure competitive electricity supplier performance, are all critical to transitioning to a fully competitive market.