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Electricity in Pennsylvania, decoded.

By Hilary Norris Updated 6 min read

Pennsylvania opened residential retail electricity choice in 1996, six years before Illinois did. 7 investor-owned utilities deliver power to ~5.8M households: PPL, PECO and Duquesne Light cover the major metros; the 4 FirstEnergy companies (Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn) cover most of the rest. 14 rural electric cooperatives and ~35 municipal departments fill the gaps. All of PA sits inside the PJM Interconnection wholesale market.

~5.8M
PA electric meters
7 IOUs
+ 14 co-ops, 35 munis
1996
Retail choice opened
PJM
Wholesale market

Who serves your address

Seven big IOUs cover roughly 95% of PA meters. Co-ops and munis fill the rural and borough gaps.

See the full PA utility directory with all 14 rural co-ops and 35 municipal systems.

What 1996 changed

PTC, EGS or stay default — three ways to buy electricity in PA

The 1996 Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act split your bill into supply and delivery. You can shop the supply line. The utility still owns the wires.

Price to Compare (PTC)

The utility's default supply rate, set by a procurement auction under PUC rules. Resets every 1 June and 1 December for residential.

  • No contract, no termination fee.
  • !Tracks PJM capacity + energy auctions, can spike.

Competitive supplier (EGS)

A PUC-licensed EGS replaces the supply line of your bill. Delivery stays with your IOU — same wires, same meter reader.

  • Fixed-rate, variable-rate and renewable offers.
  • !Read every contract for variable-after-intro pricing.

Co-op or municipal

If you live on co-op or muni lines, you have no retail-choice option. Your utility is also your supplier, charged at a single bundled rate.

  • Muni rates often 10 to 25% below nearby IOUs.
  • !Smaller storm-response crews + weekdays-only service.

Note: compare an EGS all-in rate against the current PTC, not against your last bill. The PTC is printed on every monthly statement.

Save these

PA emergency phone lines

For outages and gas leaks, always call your delivery utility, never your supplier. Wire on the ground? 911 first.

PPL Electric outage · 24/7

1-800-342-5775

Central + eastern PA. Text OUT to 898775.

PECO outage · 24/7

1-800-841-4141

Philadelphia + 4 SE PA counties.

Duquesne Light outage · 24/7

1-888-393-7000

Pittsburgh metro (Allegheny + Beaver).

FirstEnergy outage · 24/7

1-888-544-4877

Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn — single line.

PECO gas · 24/7

1-800-841-4141

SE PA gas leak. Leave the building first.

PA PUC (regulator)

1-800-692-7380

File a complaint, check EGS licensing.

Quick answers

The questions PA households ask before calling.

Call your utility at least three business days before move-in. PPL Electric: 1-800-342-5775. PECO: 1-800-494-4000. Duquesne Light: 412-393-7100. FirstEnergy (Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn): uses the operating-company line on your bill. You start on the utility's Price to Compare by default — shop an EGS later if you want.

Yes, if you live on one of the 7 PA IOUs' lines. Pennsylvania opened retail choice in 1996. Compare offers via our supplier directory or PAPowerSwitch.com (PUC's official portal). Co-op and municipal customers cannot switch — their utility owns both delivery and supply.

Every 1 June and 1 December for residential customers. PA IOUs run procurement auctions under PUC rules, and the resulting PTC is locked in for six months. Wholesale spikes from the PJM capacity auctions (notably the 2025-2026 PJM auction clearing at record levels) flow through to PA PTCs roughly six months later.

PJM Interconnection is the regional grid operator that dispatches generators and runs the wholesale electricity market across 13 states plus DC, including all of Pennsylvania. PJM matters to your bill because the wholesale prices set in PJM's day-ahead and real-time markets are what your utility (or EGS) pays to buy the power you consume. PJM also runs the capacity auction that locks in resource adequacy for future delivery years.

Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn are four separately incorporated EDCs, each with its own PUC-approved rate base, tariff and Price to Compare auction. They share back-office systems, branding and the central outage line (1-888-544-4877) because they all belong to FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE: FE). But the rate you pay depends on which of the four serves your specific address.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), a five-member appointed body, regulates IOU delivery rates, licenses EGS suppliers and runs PAPowerSwitch.com. The PUC's Bureau of Consumer Services (BCS) handles complaints. The PA Office of Consumer Advocate is the state-recognised residential ratepayer advocate. FERC regulates PJM's market rules and interstate transmission rates.

Article reviewed by Cornelia Zavoianu, Selectra energy expert

Written by

Hilary Norris

Content & communications, U.S.

Read more from Hilary

Biography

Master's in Environmental Policy from Sciences-Po Paris and a BA in International Relations from the University of British Columbia. Joined Selectra in November 2014 to launch the Canadian branch of CallMePower, moved to the U.S. desk in April 2015 and now leads content and communications for CallMePower.com.

Expertise

U.S. energy market Content strategy Consumer guides