Residents see major rise in electric bills
PPL Electrics acknowledges tech problem causing issue, but says not to skip payment
Pat Handwerk was searching for a better electric rate to possibly trim expenses in these high-inflationary times.
She looked online last week to search her power supplier, PPL Electric Utilities. On her account, she noted her last payment of $180. and an estimated amount for her next bill’s due date of . . . $515.
With a typical monthly bill around $150, the Coopersburg resident thought, “What have I done wrong?”
Nothing, it turns out, but consumers like Handwerk still must pay up, according to PPL.
The company says while customarily gathering data from customer meters, an unspecified “technical system issue” made the data temporarily unavailable in generating and displaying customer usage, according to a spokesperson. That led to the excessively high estimated bills for thousands of customers. But instead of rebilling those customers, PPL says they must pay the higher-than-normal bills, then receive a credit on the next bill.
PPL’s action and response has frustrated many customers such as Handwerk. She said she volunteers as a Meals on Wheels driver and visits older consumers, and the utility’s decision requiring
estimated payments that, in some cases, means an additional hundreds of dollars will be difficult.
“Waiting a month or two for the credit is not going to help them,” she said. “With inflation, seniors are really struggling. This is not a good thing to happen now.”
When she called PPL, Handwerk said, a customer service representative told her the billing issue affected approximately 790,000 people. The company did not say how many customers were billed in error, but state Consumer Advocate Patrick Cicero, whose office spoke with PPL officials, said more than 795,000 customers were affected.
The higher bills have come at a time when increases in generation supply prices have increased most customers’
bills. PPL’s most recent spike, which took effect Dec. 1., raised its rate to 14.61 cents per kilowatt-hour, up from 12.36 cents. The 18% increase added about $22 per month to the typical residential customer’s bill, according to the company.
Cicero, whose office represents residential consumers, said PPL’s price change, coupled with cold weather, likely led to the perfect storm scenario that’s hitting customers’ bills.
“In situations such as these,” company spokesperson Jane George said via a statement, “the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission provides guidelines whereby a utility can bill using estimated usage data.”
A PUC spokesperson provided the public utility regulation that addresses billing, including guidelines and mechanisms for estimated bills, but did not respond to questions about what happens in a situation involving what a utility describes as a “technical” issue on its end.
What consumers can do
“In any situation where a consumer believes that a utility has not acted appropriately, the first step is to raise the matter with the utility,” PUC spokesperson Nils Hagen-Frederiksen said.
If a utility does not address an issue to a consumer’s satisfaction, a customer can file an online complaint with the state utility commission. Its Bureau of Consumer Services can be reached at 800-692-7380.
It was unclear whether state agencies would investigate; Ciocero said his office had not received complaints and encouraged customers to also call the Office of Consumer Advocate at 800-684-6560. He also said small businesses can contact the state Office of Small Business Advocate: 717-783-2525.
The PUC also has standards and billing practices for residential service that include a list of consumer rights. In general, consumers can opt to read a meter and report the actual number by phone or online through the utility’s website.
“You have a right to bill clarity,” Cicero said, “and if you are concerned about the accuracy of your bill, contact your utility.”
George said PPL offers customer assistance programs, including budget billing and payment plans, for those who need help. Customers can find more at pplelectric.com/ billhelp. She also said consumers can find more information on how to view the breakdown of charges and electricity use at pplelectric. com/ bill101.
Handwerk said she filed a complaint with the PUC but worried about how the situation could “cause a lot of people a lot of heartache.”
This is not the first time PPL has run afoul of a billing matter. After about 12,000 customers got wrong bills last spring, and the company blamed the mix-up on a data cleanup of mailing addresses.
And the PUC approved a settlement in August 2021 after PPL improperly billed five residential customers during 2017 and ’18. PPL agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and provide better procedures in its billing practices.
PPL, which delivers electricity to 1.4 million customers in 29 counties, including much of the Lehigh Valley, is a subsidiary of PPL Corp. It also provides electricity and natural gas to more than 3.5 million customers in three other states: Kentucky, Rhode Island and Virginia.