Wholesale prices have remained stable in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM). The price rise in the summer of 1999 can be attributed to extra seasonal demand and to distribution problems, which were affecting the Midwest that year. However, this price spike behaved as market economists would predict and returned to previous levels after the extra demand dissipated.

As of January 1, 2000, Pennsylvania became one of the first states in the country to let consumers choose their electricity supplier. Even though wholesale prices fluctuate according to supply and demand, retail customers enjoy price caps, and residential and commercial customers get an 8 percent rate reduction. According to the PA Electric Shopping Statistics web site, as of April 2001, 787,846 residential, commercial and industrial customers had chosen their own supplier (about 15% of eligible customers). Pennsylvania is often heralded as one of the most successful cases of utility deregulation, but the measure of the program really depends upon how the market works once price caps are lifted in 2006.

This Pennsylvania customer has chosen an alternate energy supplier - one that's more environmentally oriented than other companies. As you can see, this customer's power bill went down by about $8 from 2000 to 2001. Her rate was stable for a year at around 7 cents per kilowatt-hour -- the only reason her total bill fluctuated was because of her usage patterns. The price stability is because price caps are in place in Pennsylvania until 2006.

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		For more information, the Department of Energy offers a fact sheet on electricity retail rates and more details on restructuring activity in Pennsylvania.