Pennsylvania Price to Compare Electricity (2026)

A homeowner in Allentown gets a mailer promising "savings on electricity." Before she calls the number, she pulls up her PPL Electric bill and finds a line that reads "Price to Compare." That number, expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour, is the only benchmark that matters.

The Price to Compare is the supply rate your utility charges customers who have never switched to a competitive supplier. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PA PUC) requires every electric distribution company in the state to publish it clearly, usually on the bill itself and on the utility's website. If a competitive supplier quotes you a rate lower than your Price to Compare, you save money on supply. If the quote is higher, you pay more. That is the entire logic of Pennsylvania's deregulated market.

Pennsylvania has six investor-owned electric utilities, and each one serves a distinct geographic territory. Your utility is determined by your address, not by choice.

PECO covers Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. PPL Electric serves a wide swath of central and eastern Pennsylvania. Met-Ed covers Berks and parts of the Reading area. Penelec serves northwestern Pennsylvania including Erie. West Penn Power covers the southwestern portion of the state outside of Pittsburgh. Duquesne Light serves the Pittsburgh metro.

Your Price to Compare appears in the supply section of your monthly bill. It also lives on each utility's website, typically under a tab labeled "default service" or "shopping." The state-run comparison platform PAPowerSwitch lists the current Price to Compare for every utility alongside competing supplier offers, which makes side-by-side comparison straightforward.

As of July 2026, the default supply rates across Pennsylvania's six utilities break down as follows:

PECO: approximately 11.8 cents per kWh
PPL Electric: approximately 13.1 cents per kWh
Met-Ed: approximately 13.0 cents per kWh
Penelec: approximately 13.1 cents per kWh
West Penn Power: approximately 12.1 cents per kWh
Duquesne Light: approximately 13.8 cents per kWh

Duquesne Light customers currently face the highest default supply rate in the state, which also means they have the most room to benefit from shopping. PECO customers start from a lower baseline, so the gap between default service and competitive offers is narrower, though savings are still achievable.

The lowest competitive supplier rate available in Pennsylvania right now is approximately 10.3 cents per kWh, though availability varies by utility territory. Check our Pennsylvania rates page for live, territory-specific offers.

The math is simple. Locate your Price to Compare on your bill, then look at supplier quotes expressed in cents per kWh. Subtract the supplier rate from your Price to Compare. The difference, multiplied by your monthly kilowatt-hour usage, is your estimated monthly savings before any fees.

For example, a PPL Electric customer using 1,000 kWh per month pays at the default supply rate of roughly 13.1 cents per kWh. If a competitive supplier offers 10.3 cents per kWh, the difference is 2.8 cents. On 1,000 kWh, that is approximately $28 per month in supply savings. Annual savings would approach $336, assuming the rate holds and usage stays consistent.

A few things to check before signing anything. First, confirm whether the supplier's quoted rate is fixed or variable. A fixed rate locks in savings for the contract term. A variable rate can move month to month and could end up above your Price to Compare. Second, read the contract for early termination fees. Third, confirm that distribution charges, which cover the wires and poles, stay with your utility regardless of who supplies your electricity. Those charges do not change when you switch suppliers.

PPL Electric and PECO together cover the majority of Pennsylvania's population, so these two get the most attention from shoppers.

Price to Compare PPL Electric: At approximately 13.1 cents per kWh as of July 2026, PPL's default service rate sits toward the higher end of the state range. PPL also operates one of the more active shopping markets in the state, with a consistent roster of competitive suppliers listed on PAPowerSwitch. PPL Electric customers will find their Price to Compare printed on the first page of the bill under the "Electric Generation" section.

Price to Compare PECO: PECO's default rate of approximately 11.8 cents per kWh is the lowest among the six Pennsylvania utilities right now. That does not mean shopping is pointless for PECO customers. With competitive rates reaching as low as 10.3 cents per kWh in some territories, there is still a meaningful gap. PECO customers tend to find fewer competing offers than PPL customers, so comparing carefully on PAPowerSwitch matters more.

Both utilities update their default service rates periodically, typically in line with procurement cycles overseen by the PA PUC. Rates you see today will not necessarily apply six months from now, which is one reason locking in a competitive fixed rate can be a smart hedge.

Customers who never actively shop automatically stay on their utility's default service. Default service rates in Pennsylvania are not fixed indefinitely. They reset when utilities conduct new default service procurements, and depending on wholesale energy prices, a default service rate can go up or down.

This creates a real planning consideration. If wholesale energy prices rise significantly before your utility's next procurement, your Price to Compare increases, and any fixed-rate competitive contract you signed at a lower price looks even better in hindsight. If wholesale prices drop sharply, a fixed contract could end up above a newly lowered Price to Compare, at which point waiting for the contract to expire (or paying a termination fee, if any) and returning to default service becomes worth evaluating.

The practical takeaway is to treat the Price to Compare not as a static ceiling but as a moving target. Reviewing your supply situation once a year, ideally in advance of your utility's next rate reset, is a reasonable habit. ElectricRates.org's Pennsylvania page tracks both default rates and competitive offers so you can make that comparison quickly.

Shopping for a lower supply rate is not the only tool available to Pennsylvania households struggling with electric costs. The state operates income-based assistance programs that can reduce bills substantially, independent of which supplier serves a customer.

The Customer Assistance Program (CAP) is run by each Pennsylvania utility and caps monthly electric bills for qualifying low-income customers at a percentage of household income. Eligibility thresholds and benefit structures vary by utility. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides seasonal assistance for heating and, in some cases, cooling costs. Applications for both programs run through local county assistance offices and through the PA PUC's bureau of consumer services.

For specific eligibility figures and application deadlines, the PA PUC's consumer resources page and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services are the authoritative sources. Income thresholds and benefit amounts are not reproduced here because they change periodically.

The switching process in Pennsylvania is straightforward and carries no service interruption risk. Electricity continues to flow through the same wires before, during, and after a supplier change. The distribution utility does not change.

Step one: Find your current Price to Compare on your bill or at PAPowerSwitch. Step two: Compare available offers on PAPowerSwitch or on a private comparison site like ElectricRates.org, filtering by your zip code and utility territory. Step three: Review the contract terms, paying close attention to rate type (fixed or variable), contract length, and any termination fee. Step four: Enroll directly through the supplier's website or by phone. Your utility will process the switch, typically within one to two billing cycles.

If you ever want to return to default service, you simply cancel with your competitive supplier. There is no penalty from the utility for switching back, though the supplier contract may carry its own early termination fee. The PA PUC maintains a supplier license list and a complaint process if any issues arise after enrollment.

Pennsylvania's deregulated electricity market gives residents a real tool for cutting supply costs. The Price to Compare is the anchor for every shopping decision. Know your utility, find your current Price to Compare, and hold any supplier quote against that number before signing.

As of July 2026, default supply rates range from roughly 11.8 cents per kWh at PECO to 13.8 cents per kWh at Duquesne Light, while the lowest available competitive rate in the state sits near 10.3 cents per kWh. The gap between those figures represents genuine, accessible savings for most Pennsylvania households willing to spend twenty minutes on PAPowerSwitch or on ElectricRates.org's Pennsylvania comparison tool.