Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. is the first electric utility to be granted a license by the state Public Utility Commission to sell electricity throughout Pennsylvania as part of the state's new Customer Choice Act.
The PUC has approved PP&L's application for a license to operate as an electric generation supplier throughout Pennsylvania. The license allows PP&L to sell electricity and related services both inside and outside of the company's current 29-county service territory in the central and eastern part of the state.
"It is PP&L's intent to compete throughout Pennsylvania -- including our current service territory -- and to expand our base of customers by providing competitively-priced electricity and quality services," said John Sipics, PP&L's vice president of Retail Energy Supply. "As a leading advocate of customer choice for electric utility customers, this is something PP&L has been working toward for three years."
The competitive selling of electricity will begin with customer choice pilot programs throughout the state. Under PP&L's pilot program proposal, which is awaiting final PUC approval, customers could begin enrolling later this summer. Electricity from competing suppliers could flow as early as October.
The pilot programs are part of the transition from today's regulated electricity marketplace to a competitive one. As early as Jan. 1, 1999, one-third of Pennsylvanians will have the opportunity to select the company that generates their electricity. A second third would be offered choice as early as Jan. 1, 2000, and all customers could have choice by Jan. 1, 2001.
"Millions of Pennsylvania's electricity customers will soon have the opportunity to shop for their electricity supplier," Sipics said. "This license is one more step in preparing PP&L to compete to win their business."
Under state law, any company -- including existing electric utilities -- needs to apply for a PUC license to sell electricity in the new competitive market.
Along with selling electric energy and capacity throughout Pennsylvania, PP&L intends to sell related services to customers, such as energy efficiency, energy auditing and energy consulting services.
Under the Customer Choice Act, the state's current electric utilities will continue to provide delivery services -- distribution of electricity to homes and businesses throughout the Commonwealth.
PP&L, a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, provides electricity services to 1.2 million customers in central and eastern Pennsylvania. Other subsidiaries are Power Markets Development Co., which invests in energy projects worldwide; and Spectrum Energy Services Corp., which markets energy-related services and products.