Duquesne Light Company to Raise Business Rates
Businesses in the Duquesne Light Company region could feel the heat when the company raises its price to compare (PTC) rates. In fact, commercial and industrial supply rates are set to increase by 77% on September 1! If you’re a residential DLC customer in Pittsburgh, you may wonder how this rate increase affects you.
What the Higher DLC Business Rate Could Mean for Residential Rates
To be clear, DLC has not announced a rate increase for residential customers. But to be blunt, when a PA electric utility hikes PTC rates for one customer class, increases for other classes probably aren’t very far behind. And, a supply rate increase of 77% is not one to take lightly! In addition, when you consider the supply cost is only part of the PTC rate, you can bet your total cost may be higher. Although your residential electric rates may not increase much, you’re still paying more. And with rising prices all around, it’s an added cost you can do without.
So, with the 77% increase for Pittsburgh business customers in mind, let’s assume your PTC rate with Duquesne Light Company increases by 60% in the next few months. The current residential default rate of 9.360 cents per kWh would increase to 14.976 cents per kWh.
That means your average monthly bill in the future bill may look like this:
DLC PTC Rate Current Supply Charge
| Charge for 864 kWh Used | Monthly Customer Charge | Charge Total | |
Current Supply Charge $0.09360 per kWh | $80.87 | 0 | $80.87 |
| Duquesne Light Company Monthly Distribution Charges (excluding riders) | $52.04 | $12.50 | $64.54 |
| Total Bill | $145.41 |
DLC PTC Rate Theoretical Increase Charges
| Charge for 864 kWh Used | Monthly Customer Charge | Charge Total | |
| Supply Charge at $0.14976 per kWh | $129.39 | 0 | $129.39 |
| Duquesne Light Company Monthly Distribution Charges (excluding riders)$0.060233 per kWh | $52.04 | $12.50 | $64.54 |
| Total Bill | $193.93 |
As you can see, when your PTC rate rises even just a few cents per kWh, the result is a much higher monthly bill. Remember that when you sign up with a local utility for their default electric service, your rates aren’t locked in for a long term, either. After all, DLC changes its rates about every 6 months. Therefore, you could face even higher rate increases this coming winter!
However, there is a solution! In other words, take action and lock in a low price fixed rate plan. Therefore, you won’t worry about rate increases during the plan period.
Lock in a Low Rate Today
In conclusion, don’t risk high rate increases that will give you a surge of frustration! Rather, know what your price per kWh rate will be for the entire length of your electric plan contract. Also, you can find a plan as short as 6 months or one as long as 48 months. Therefore, pick your best electric plan option and lock in a cheap rate today!
Visit https://www.paenergyratings.com to review Pittsburgh electric plans and learn more about the companies that offer these electric options!