Pennsylvania

Tomorrow, COMPETE members will join leading energy industry stakeholders and academia at the first-ever Penn State Electricity Markets Initiative (EMI) Conference in Harrisburg, Penn. The conference will explore social, economic and environmental benefits of the state’s competitive electricity markets.

Pennsylvania’s competitive electricity market crossed a major milestone this week, with 1 million customers actively shopping and choosing their electricity provider. Since rate caps expired across the state at the beginning of the year, nearly 300,000 new accounts were established, the clearest indication yet that Pennsylvania customers are embracing competition.

Across the country, residents and businesses are continuing to exercise their ability to choose their electricity provider. Electricity shopping in competitive markets ensures providers are more innovative and efficient in their efforts to attract customers. As a result, consumers have access to the highest quality service at the most competitive prices. 
 

In the week since his State of the Union speech – where the topics of job creation, innovation, and clean energy, all which are hallmarks of competition, were a focus – President Obama has been on the road promoting specific initiatives to help achieve his broader energy agenda. On Thursday, he’ll visit Penn State University to acknowledge their ongoing efforts in energy innovation and highlight the importance of greater investment in clean energy.

A major Pennsylvania environmental group has endorsed competition’s benefits, just as rate caps expired across the state and millions of consumers gained the ability to shop for their electricity on January 1. PennFuture’s report, “Consumers Win: A Decade of Electricity Competition,” touts the success of competition, saying “the benefits to Pennsylvania ratepayers cannot be disputed.”
 

The upcoming expiration of Pennsylvania’s rate caps means tremendous opportunity for consumers to shop for lower-cost electricity supply. With an influx of competitive options, many residential and business consumers may be wondering how to get the most of their choices.
 

A recent report forecasts rapid growth in jobs among the solar industry, and predicts competitive market states will lead the way in growing green jobs through clean energy innovation. The National Solar Jobs Census 2010 forecasts 24,000 net new jobs will be created over the next twelve months, a 26 percent increase over the 93,000 currently employed.
 

Competitive electricity markets are driving innovation, stimulating new investment, and delivering customer choice across North America, concludes the 2010 Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS).
 

A new study sponsored by COMPETE reveals the volume of electricity sales by competitive non-utility suppliers has doubled since 2003 in the continental United States, and competitive suppliers are increasingly offering innovative products and services allowing competition based on more than just price.
 
The report compiles national statistics and in-depth analysis of several states (New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington D.C.) that have opened their retail electricity markets to competition.
 

The number of consumers switching to competitive suppliers has continued its trend of upward growth in four states with competitive markets, bringing competitively priced electricity to even more customers. These switching numbers come from recently released state data posted in Restructuring Today, and reiterate that electricity customers switching their power suppliers is a clear sign of the success of competitive markets.