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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith
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McIlvaine Smith votes to keep electric bills in check
HARRISBURG, Oct. 8 – Pennsylvania electric customers will soon have the tools they need to lower their electric bills. House Bill 2200, sponsored by state Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D-Clearfield, and supported by state Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith, D-Chester, passed the General Assembly and is headed to the governor to be signed into law.
"With electric rate caps due to expire, we needed to take bold steps to help consumers keep their electric usage, and their electric bills, down. This bill offers customers that assistance," McIlvaine Smith said.
House Bill 2200 would give consumers three choices of how to be billed for their electricity:
· Traditional average rate plan where the consumer pays the same cost regardless of when energy is used;
· Peak and off-peak rate plan where customers are charged depending on what time of day they use energy;
· Real-time pricing which passes the actual cost of energy every hour to the consumer so they can benefit by consuming in the hours when costs are lowest.
House Bill 2200 requires "least cost" purchasing by utilities so customers don't foot the bill for bad energy-purchasing decisions by utilities. It requires electric utilities to submit to the Public Utility Commission a conservation plan by July 2009, and requires utilities to work with customers to cut energy use by 1 percent by 2011 and 3 percent by 2013.
"Conserving a kilowatt-hour of electricity costs about 3 cents; generating that same amount costs around 10 cents. Clearly conservation is much more cost effective than producing new energy," McIlvaine Smith said. "Through its conservation efforts, this bill not only helps consumers to save on their electric bills, but it will also help to reduce carbon emissions and encourage the development and use of sustainable alternative energy in Pennsylvania."
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