submitted a rate increase request to the PUC which would provide with PECO approximately $246 million per year, a boost of roughly 7 percent. If the entire increase is approved, PECO estimates the average residential customer, using 700 kilowatts per hour, would see their monthly bill increase by 9.65 percent, from $100.29 to $109.97.
A commercial customer, using 10,000 kWh, would see an increase from $814.40 to $859.08 or 5.49 percent while an industrial customer, using 200,000 kWh would see a boost from $14,368.90 to $15,041.87, an increase of 4.68 percent.
The proposal includes a provision that would provide relief to individuals and small businesses who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including those who have been unemployed because of the pandemic, and businesses that have received a relief grant or are operating in low-income communities.
Between now and the end of the year, the PUC will receive input from the Consumer Advocate office, which can offer witness testimony, as well as entities including the Office of Small Business Advocate, various community groups, and individual citizens.
Guhl will make a recommendation to the PUC, which has the final say in the matter. The commission may approve the entire request, a portion of it, or none at all. The PUC's final decision must be issued by December 29 of this year (2021).
PECO did not respond to requests for comment. However, if residents are upset with the proposed rate hike they can take their business to another of the 100 or so competitors in the area or have solar panels installed to defray their costs.
This proposed rate increase has the potential to thrust even more customers into positions of energy insecurity, as more households are struggling than ever to afford their electric bills at current rates due to the economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this rate increase would affect all PECO customers and will potentially push energy secure customers into energy crises, the rate increase would be especially concerning for traditonally energy vulnerable populations such as seniors who are largely surviving on fixed incomes, and whose health and safety could be greatly jeoparidized if they face a utility shut-off due to inability to afford their bills.
Rick Woelfel, "PECO Seeks Rate Increase Of 9 Percent For Average Household", contributed by Morgan Sarao, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 2 July 2021, accessed 19 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/peco-seeks-rate-increase-9-percent-average-household
Critical Commentary
On March 30, PECO
submitted a rate increase request to the PUC which would provide with PECO approximately $246 million per year, a boost of roughly 7 percent. If the entire increase is approved, PECO estimates the average residential customer, using 700 kilowatts per hour, would see their monthly bill increase by 9.65 percent, from $100.29 to $109.97.
A commercial customer, using 10,000 kWh, would see an increase from $814.40 to $859.08 or 5.49 percent while an industrial customer, using 200,000 kWh would see a boost from $14,368.90 to $15,041.87, an increase of 4.68 percent.
The proposal includes a provision that would provide relief to individuals and small businesses who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including those who have been unemployed because of the pandemic, and businesses that have received a relief grant or are operating in low-income communities.
Between now and the end of the year, the PUC will receive input from the Consumer Advocate office, which can offer witness testimony, as well as entities including the Office of Small Business Advocate, various community groups, and individual citizens.
Guhl will make a recommendation to the PUC, which has the final say in the matter. The commission may approve the entire request, a portion of it, or none at all. The PUC's final decision must be issued by December 29 of this year (2021).
PECO did not respond to requests for comment. However, if residents are upset with the proposed rate hike they can take their business to another of the 100 or so competitors in the area or have solar panels installed to defray their costs.
This proposed rate increase has the potential to thrust even more customers into positions of energy insecurity, as more households are struggling than ever to afford their electric bills at current rates due to the economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this rate increase would affect all PECO customers and will potentially push energy secure customers into energy crises, the rate increase would be especially concerning for traditonally energy vulnerable populations such as seniors who are largely surviving on fixed incomes, and whose health and safety could be greatly jeoparidized if they face a utility shut-off due to inability to afford their bills.