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Part 2: PECO in the New Landscape

With energy rate caps off with the start of the new year, 1.6 million PECO customers are now able to choose their energy supplier to save money.

So, what will PECO's future role be in keeping your home lit and your refrigerator on?

Right now, PECO's "price to compare" is 9.92 cents per kilowatt hour for a typical residential customer.  The latest increase tacks on about $5 more per month to one's bill during this quarter, according to Cathy Engel (below right), spokeswoman for PECO.

And she says PECO's cents-per-kilowatt-hour is expected to go up again in April.

"And the forecasted, the estimated price is about 10 or 11 cents for the following quarter. We will have to complete those purchases to see exactly where we net out, but that is an estimate to help our customers plan," she told KYW Newsradio recently.

Engel says it doesn't matter if you choose another electricity supplier or continue with PECO -- the utility company will still bring the electricity to your home.

"Either way, no matter whom they are purchasing power from, PECO will continue to deliver that electricity.  We also will bill customers, so customers will continue to receive one bill and that bill will contain our charges to deliver the energy as well as the charges from the competitive supplier they choose."

And if even if you switched, you will still contact PECO for power outages or downed wires.

"They will absolutely continue to call us," Engel advises users throughout the PECO service area.  "It will be our same crews, the same blue and white trucks that will respond to insure that we restore their service in the event of an emergency or keep their power on during the rest of the 365 days of the year."

For more information, go pecoanswers.com.

"You can send a question directly to us through pecoanswers.com and we'll respond to it," Engel said.

Hear the full podcast...

Reported by John McDevitt, KYW Newsradio 1060.

 

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