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The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce on Thursday unveiled a new electric program intended to help small businesses and residents save on their electric bills,
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which for PPL Electric Utilities' residential customers rose more than 30 percent in January due to deregulaion of the Pennsylvania electric market.
What the program lacks in price the sponsors say is made up in a shopping rewards program that offers discounts at hotels, restaurants and shops.
The new program, offered with the Danbury, Conn. energy company Public Power, has an introductory rate of 9.2 cents per kilowatt hour for the first two months and 9.7 cents per kilowatt hour for the remaining 10 months of a year-long term. There is a $75 early termination fee.
There are several suppliers already offering better rates at or just below 9 cents per kilowatt hour in the PPL service area, including Dominon Energy of Richmond, Vir., Con Edison Solutions of White Plains, N.Y. and Direct Energy of Toronto.
The typical residential customer without electric heat uses about 1,000 kilowatt hours per month, and many small businesses that don't use heavy equipment use about the same amount.
PPL's residential customers who have not shopped for an alternative electric provider pay 10.4 cents per kilowatt hour, so the Chamber-sponsored program would save them money. But those interested strictly in the rate and not a rewards program offering discounts would be better off with a different company.
The new program is in addition to a program the Chamber already launched with Constellation NewEnergy. But many small businesses did not use enough energy to qualify for that program, so the chamber launched a new program geared to residents and small businesses with low electric use, said Lanita Lum, the chamber's vice president of member relations and marketing.
The Consteallation program has only been used by about 5 percent of the Chamber's members, Lum said. The Carbon County Chamber of Commerce and Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce, which also offered the Constellation program, both said they needed an additional electric choice program for smaller businesses that make up the bulk of their membership.
"We have a lot of people who are unaware or don't think they have the time to tackle this to improve their bottom line," Lum said. "The big problem is people aren't doing anything, and they need to do something."
Of PPL's 1.4 million Pennsylvania customers, about one-third have picked alternative electric providers, including 32.1 percent of residential customers, 40 percent of small business customers and about 80 percent of large industrial customers, according to PPL.
Large industrial customers consume more electricity and have more to gain by shopping around. They also have more negotiating power with suppliers due to the amount of energy they use.
For information about the chamber program, go to http://www.lehighvalleychamber.org and click on the small business/residential electricity program, or call 610-820-5000.
Spencer.soper@mcall.com
610-820-6694
Making the switch
Less than half of PPL's residential and small business customers have switched to an alternative energy provider, even though shopping around would save them money.
GroupShopping% of Customers
Residential394,06332.1%
Small business70,76240.3%
Large business99679.0%
TOTAL465,82133.2%
Source: PPL
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Copyright (c) 2010, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
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