Fixed Price Issues in Pennsylvania
Some customers in Pennsylvania have been unhappy with their decisions to switch power providers. This problem continues according to Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission (PUC), with some providers advertising their services as fixed price when they are anything but. The PUC’s stance can be summed up in the following statement: “[w]hile consumers are expected and encouraged to carefully review the disclosure statements, presenting a product as having a fixed price that in fact vary for any number of reasons could be seen as misleading.” (Source: PAOCA)
What some providers advertise as a “fixed rate” of payment is actually a “fixed rate with pass-through clauses.” This sounds a bit jargon-y, but simply put this means that additional costs that are levied on the electricity supplier can be pushed onto the customer while not technically betraying the “fixed rate” advertising. These additional costs can come from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or even the PUC.
Several solutions have been suggested but ultimately customers need better information about pricing.