Pennsylvanians should be free to choose the electric supplier that works for them.
For nearly three decades, Pennsylvania consumers have had the power to choose who supplies their electricity.
That choice means you can compare:
- Suppliers
- Prices
- Fixed and variable rates
- Contract lengths and terms
- Renewable energy options
- Products designed to provide greater price stability
Competition gives Pennsylvania families and businesses options. Monopoly control takes those options away.
Protecting competition means protecting you.
PROTECT PENNSYLVANIA’S ELECTRIC CHOICE
You Should Decide Who Supplies Your Electricity
Before Pennsylvania opened its electricity market to competition, consumers were effectively captive to a single monopoly utility for both the delivery and supply of their electricity.
Pennsylvania changed that in 1996 by passing the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act. Full retail electric choice followed in 1999, giving consumers the freedom to select a competitive supplier or remain with their utility’s default service.
Today, that decision belongs to you.
You can choose a plan based on price. You can select a longer-term fixed rate to help protect against market volatility. You can look for renewable energy or other product features that reflect your priorities. Or you can remain with your utility’s default supply.
The important thing is that you have the choice.
Competition Gives You More Control
There is no single electricity product that is right for every Pennsylvania household or business.
Some consumers prioritize the lowest available price. Others want predictable rates that make budgeting easier. Some prefer renewable energy. Businesses may need contract terms designed around their operating schedules and energy usage.
A competitive market allows different suppliers to compete for those customers by offering different combinations of:
- Competitive pricing
- Long-term fixed-rate options
- Flexible contract terms
- Renewable and green-energy products
- Innovative energy-management services
- Customer service
A monopoly offers one default product.
Competition gives consumers the ability to compare and decide.
Choice Can Help Protect Against Rising Costs
Consumers should have more tools to manage costs, not fewer.
Competitive suppliers can offer fixed-price and longer-term products that help protect customers from short-term market fluctuations during the term of their contracts. Pennsylvania consumers can also compare available supplier offers against their utility’s current “Price to Compare.”
Competition does not guarantee that every offer will always be the least expensive option. It does something equally important: it gives consumers the ability to shop, compare, manage risk and choose the product that best fits their needs.
Eliminating competition would not eliminate rising energy costs. It would eliminate one of the tools consumers can use to respond to them.
Pennsylvania Has Strong Consumer Protections
Consumer choice and consumer protection should work together.
Pennsylvania requires important protections governing supplier contracts, renewals and price disclosures. Consumers receive advance notices before contracts expire or renew, and they can return to utility default service if they decide a competitive plan no longer meets their needs.
Pennsylvanians can use the Public Utility Commission’s official PAPowerSwitch.com marketplace to review licensed suppliers and compare:
- The price per kilowatt-hour
- Fixed or variable rates
- Contract length
- Cancellation fees
- Renewable energy content
- Other product features and conditions
Consumers should always review the complete terms of an offer before enrolling. An informed choice is a protected choice.
Monopoly Utilities Want Even More Control
Pennsylvania’s utility companies already operate the poles, wires and infrastructure that deliver electricity to homes and businesses.
Now, monopoly utilities want even more control over the electricity market.
Policies that weaken competitive suppliers or force consumers back toward monopoly default service would reduce the number of available products, discourage innovation and leave Pennsylvanians with fewer ways to manage their energy costs.
That is not consumer protection.
Taking away choices does not protect consumers. It protects monopolies from competition.
Don’t Let Harrisburg Take Your Choice Away
For nearly 30 years, Pennsylvania has been a national leader in electric competition.
That progress should not be reversed.
Pennsylvania policymakers should preserve a market that:
- Protects the right of consumers to choose
- Encourages suppliers to compete for their business
- Maintains strong consumer protections
- Promotes transparent pricing and contract terms
- Supports new products and innovation
- Gives families and businesses more control over their energy decisions
Monopoly utilities should not be allowed to use their influence in Harrisburg to take away a choice that belongs to Pennsylvania consumers.
Competition gives you a choice. Protecting competition means protecting you.