E-Power Electric Choice Conference Attracts More Than 300

PPL Electric Utilities brought together energy suppliers and some of the biggest electricity users in central and eastern Pennsylvania this week to encourage electric competition and make it easier for customers to understand how to shop for electricity.

More than 300 people came to PPL Electric Utilities’ first e-Power Electric Choice Conference in Grantville, Pa. Representatives of 21 competing electricity suppliers and more than 130 central and eastern Pennsylvania businesses attended.

“We are helping and encouraging our customers to explore the choices they have for electricity supply in the competitive market,” said David G. DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities. “As we complete the move to full electric choice at the end of this year, our customers will increasingly have opportunities to compare offers from alternative suppliers. We want them to take advantage of these opportunities for managing their electricity costs.”

Pennsylvania law allows electricity customers to choose the company that provides their generation supply, which represents the largest portion of customer bills.

PPL Electric Utilities delivers power to homes and businesses. It does not produce power itself or own power plants, but must purchase power in the open market for customers who don’t choose a supplier and pass through the costs of this default option without profit.

For years, the company’s default option has largely been the only option available to customers. That’s because alternative suppliers have been unable to compete with the capped, 1990s-level generation prices that PPL Electric Utilities must provide.

That will change in 2010 when rate caps expire for the company’s customers after more than a decade and the price for its default supply option more closely reflects market prices for electricity.

“We expect to see the choice and innovation that a truly competitive market can bring,” DeCampli said. “In fact, this event is an early indication that electricity suppliers are interested in competing for business in this area and that our customers are interested in exploring the options they have.”

Attendees to the daylong conference heard from Public Utility Commission Chairman James H. Cawley, who was the keynote speaker, and a panel that included commercial customers from other areas who are already shopping for electricity supply.

DeCampli said that no matter what choice PPL Electric Utilities customers make for their electricity supply in the future, the company will continue to provide the safe, reliable delivery service that customers expect.