Another electricity provider gets in mix

Another electricity supplier – the subsidiary of a major New York energy company – has made its pitch for business in PPL territory, announcing on Tuesday the lowest continuous price yet to be offered to residential customers.

ConEdison Solutions is offering 12-month plans for a flat 9.38 cents per kilowatt-hour with rolling admissions and no entry or cancellation fees, according to the subsidiary’s Chief Executive Officer Jorge J. Lopez, who spoke during a Harrisburg news conference.

Just one other supplier – Direct Energy – has announced a lower rate, and that is only for a three-month introduction before the price jumps to about 9.5 cents per kwh.

The current offer is available likely through January, Lopez noted, and ConEdison has agreed to donate $5 to the customer’s local Ronald McDonald House for every customer who switches before Jan. 31.

ConEdison, formed in 1997 as a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc., has been in Pike County since the local utility’s rate caps expired in 2006, and it has been selling to large business and industrial PPL customers since early October.

To sign up, call 1-866-842-8166 or go to www.conedsolutions.com/SAVEinPPL.

Lopez was joined at the announcement by several state legislators and John Hanger, the secretary of the state , who all extolled the success of electricity deregulation.

“Now, today, the citizens are going to have competition. … This is not a particular company, because PPL is still going to be here,” said Rep. Joseph Preston, D-Allegheny County.

“It’s not government and it’s not corporations that are telling you what to do,” said Rep. Robert Godshall, R-Montgomery County.

Whatever consumers do, they should do it soon. When rate caps expire on Jan. 1, those who haven’t switched will see their rates rise about 30 percent.

“Probably making an informed decision sooner rather than later is better,” said Hanger. “Get the answers (customers) need, but don’t delay.”

ConEdison becomes the fifth company to announce entry into the market, but it is only the third to actually offer rate options. Direct Energy has three different plan offers, while Dominion Retail is offering a 10 percent discount on whatever PPL’s rate is.

Currently, PPL’s rates are expected to be about 10.8 cents per kwh.